Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Tennant and Property management problems
I found your contact information on rhol web site. I was wondering if our landlord is at fault. We are renting a house in Florida and our Air conditioner has a bad compressor, it runs all day long and is not able to cool the house to a comfortable level. This problem has existed since the day we moved in, which has been over a month now. Our electric bill is extreamly high due to the unit constantly running. The property manager has sent an A/C repairman to the house and he said that we need the compressor replaced. I continue to contact our landlord and he keeps telling me to be patient, however when it is over 95 degrees outside it is very difficult to be patient. He keeps telling me that ''it is in the process.'' Is our landlord or property manager violating any laws or regulations? Is there a time period that they must fix the unit by?
I was hoping that maybe you or someone else could help us out. My Email address is [email protected]
thank you for your time.

Asked on 5/21/02, 10:48 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Randall Gilbert Gilbert & Caddy P.A.

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Re: Tennant and Property management problems

The Florida Landlord and Tenant Act is controlled by Part II of Florida Chapter 83 regarding residential tenancies. Section 83.51 and 83.52.

83.51 concerns Landlord and Tenant obligations to maintain premises. Section 83.51 allows a Landlord to provide in the rental agreement for the tenant to pay for utilities, fuel, and water. And therefore there is probably nothing wrong with providing you with a less than fully efficient a/c unit, unless there was some kind of misrepresentation or active concealment at the time you entered the lease, and the deception was a material deception. Additionally, 83.52 states that the tenant shall use and operate in a reasonable manner all electrical, and ... air-conditioning.

Therefore, it seems as though if you have any rights, your best resort would be to refer to the lease agreement. Most agreements require the tenant to notify the Landlord in writing of any specific dispute or complaint and to provide the landlord with a certain amount of days to cure and repair the problem. You should also check and see if there is a specific manner in which to send your notice for instance, by certified mail or facsimile. Furthermore, by placing the landlord on formal notice, you are documenting the events that have occured, which later may be considered by a court.

Assuming that the contract obligates the landlord to repair the A/C and does not specify a time, then the time frame to repair is ordinarilly deemed a reasonable time under the circumstances.

Having not read your lease agreement, I do not know whether the landlord is even obligated to repair, whether you are obligated to repair, or whether you provided adequate notice whcih would even require your landlord to repair. In short, you should read your lease agreement, and you will probably find the answer. It sounds as though there may be additional facts, and the above advice is only based on the limited information provided and may change upon the presentation of additional facts. If you need further assistance you may contact the undersigned counsel. Best of Luck,

Randall L. Gilbert, Esq.

Answered on 5/22/02, 1:05 am

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