renters rights - florida - I have a lease and landlord had realtor come to show the place

[2Design]

I am renting a mobile home
I have a lease
Shortly after moving in - about a month
the landlord came by to get rent check - he does not want me to mail and I have not address for him
He wanted to know if I was going to buy the place I said no there were too many things wrong with it
He said he was going to give it to a realtor and have them show it
I said I have a lease

Asked right then if he wanted me to move - he said no
once he sells I would have 30 days to leave

There is nothing in my lease saying he can show the place or me moving out
It is a standard download from the internet lease

what renters rights are there and what ones in Florida?
Tonight a realtor showed up at my door to show the place and said she had the owners permission
Said I never returned his calls - not true - he called once to set up time to come for rent check and I was out early in the morning and back late at night - I did not have the opportunity to call him - he expected me to call him late at night he said

He comes by to pick up his mail in the shed - he does not have his mail forwarded so I have to separate from mine and leave it there
I left his rent check in there

He wanted me to write the check to someone else because he does not want it to show up as income

Any ideas will be helpful

[sandnsea]

1. A lease, or month-to-month rental agreement

They are different. I'd tend to say move, but if it's a lease this jackass would sue you for the remaining rent. Somebody will probably come alone with Florida rental laws. They're different in each state and I wouldn't be surprised if Florida gives you no protection, as opposed to the usual 24 hour notice to enter your apartment, etc.

[2Design]

3. lease - says it ends March 31, 2009 and shows how much

has to be paid - and your right if I move - he can collect although since he is trying to hide his income perhaps he wouldn't

If I wasn't here the realtor could have just entered - she has a key -

I signed lease April 1

[newmajority]

11. "I signed lease April 1"

There's your way out. Tell him it was an elaborate April Fool's Day joke, and the lease doesn't count. :evilgrin:

By your description, it seems as though your landlord is trying to stay hidden (hiding income, not having a valid mailing address, etc.) so I'm guessing he wouldn't want to set foot in a courtroom, because there just might be a warrant out on his ass. Whether he's just a deadbeat dad dodging child support, or dodging other creditors, or actual criminal charges. And if Florida's bankruptcy laws are still what they used to be, I'd guess he's not dodging creditors.

[Mojorabbit]

2. Here is a link to fl's renters rights

http://www.hud.gov/local/fl/renting/tenantrights.cfm
I live in Fl too and I remember in the eighties waking up to the sound of people talking in the house and it was a realtor showing the place. I was pissed off. No notice at all.

[Gabi Hayes]

4. report him to the IRS as a tax cheat. they give rewards

read the lease. if it doesn't specifically say you have to let realtors in, don't.

it's a contract

if it's not in the contract, he can't do anything

make sure you have a signed copy that is the SAME as his

[demmiblue]

5. I can't comment on your lease, however...

write the check to your landlord, despite what he wants (he sounds kind of shady). Who is to say that he won't claim that you didn't pay the rent... after all, you won't have any evidence that you did!

Good luck.

[2Design]

9. check written to him - I refused to write it someone else n/t

[Petrushka]

6. Did you get a receipt for the check he wanted you to make out to somebody else? (n/t)

[2Design]

7. I refused to make check out to someone else n/t

[seriousstan]

8. I'm a landlord in Ohio. That said, I must give 24 hours notice before entering the property.

I can notify by phone or a note on the door. It is very grey area about whether the renter must receive the notice. In cases of immediate need..water, gas, electric emergencies...I can enter the apt. immediately without notice. It really matters if you do this on a regular basis. No judge is going to sue a landlord because they posted a note and then came in to check the furnace filter or replace the fire alarm batteries.

As for selling my property, I must give you the same 24 hour notice that I will show your place. This includes potential renters. I just showed my place to rent starting Sept.. We are near a major University..GO BUCKS!!!!!!. If he sells, you have 30 days to vacate or rent from the new owner. It doesn't have to be in the rental agreement. It is the new owner's rights that are being enforced, not the sellers. The seller has his money and couldn't care less about you. The owner has the right to possession of the property he just purchased. The law steps in and allows you the benefit of 30 days to move. You could get pissy and trash the place. That is the other penalty toward the buyer.

I would rather buy an empty unit than an occupied one. Many landlords "sell off" troubled tenants and property.

I would take this as an indication he will be selling. I would look into how this affects your lease agreement. You could have wiggle room. It is logical that you would start looking. If you can show that he had started to sell the property before you signed, you may have a case. If your damage is les than 5K, I think you can use small claims.

Go for Judge Joe Brown.


:toast:

[2Design]

10. you saying he can sell even if I have a lease ????

the Realtor was really ticked when I wasn't letting her in and she said huffily - you are refusing for me to come in???

I said yes - I was on the phone - I was trying to complete work that was due tonight - I did not need this
I relented and let her in but made sure the people knew I had a lease.

there was no 24 hours notice to come in

Do I have rights to leave before the lease is up if he is selling?

My lease says March 31, 2009

[seriousstan]

15. Yes, he can sell the house. You have a lease on a property he owns. He will no longer own it.

30 days to move or try to get a lease from the new owner. Your old lease will carry no weight at all. The new owner can charge whatever the market will bear.

[Lex]

17. Not in every state. In NC, the lease is a legal doc binding THE PROPERTY

and the right to possess it for the lease term. Therefore, the new owner must abide by the existing lease term.

It is a pre-existing encumbrance on the property.

[seriousstan]

19. That's why I started with..."being in Ohio". Fla should be easy enough to find.

But I'm drinkin.

:toast:

[John Q. Citizen]

22. This is entirely incorrect. The owner has tied up the property for the term of the lease If

he sells it, the new owner buys the property with the encumbrance on it, and the benefit of being able to enforce the lease (ie collect rent)

Think about it. Why would a base ball team lease a stadium if they could be out in a month?

Why would a corporation lease farm land, till and plant, if they could be out in a month before they could harvest?

You are confusing a lease with a month to month rental. They are significantly different.

[John Q. Citizen]

21. This isn't true. If the person has a lease, the new buyer buys the property with a lease on it.

They must honor the lease or they can be sued.

If you leased a large commercial space you don't imagine you could be forced to move out in 30 days at the whim of the owner/new owner do you?

People lease factories, they lease farm land, they lease all kinds of real property.

On a month to month rental, it's month to month. 30 days notice. On a year lease, it's a year. On a five year lease it's 5 years, etc.

I'm a landlord in Montana. I don't lease my residential properties, I do month to month rentals.

[Cerridwen]

12. A couple of quotes from FL statutes that may help you.

First - I am not a lawyer.

Second - you have my sympathy. Our landlord pulled this crap on us after we moved here from out of state. It took him a year to sell the place :D but it was difficult at times. We had some law on our side. It doesn't look quite so "easy" in Florida.

(1) The landlord, or a person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on the landlord's behalf, shall disclose in writing to the tenant, at or before the commencement of the tenancy, the name and address of the landlord or a person authorized to receive notices and demands in the landlord's behalf. (emphasis added) at this link

and

(2) The landlord may enter the dwelling unit at any time for the protection or preservation of the premises. The landlord may enter the dwelling unit upon reasonable notice to the tenant and at a reasonable time for the purpose of repair of the premises. "Reasonable notice" for the purpose of repair is notice given at least 12 hours prior to the entry, and reasonable time for the purpose of repair shall be between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. The landlord may enter the dwelling unit when necessary for the further purposes set forth in subsection (1) under any of the following circumstances:

(a) With the consent of the tenant;

(b) In case of emergency;

(c) When the tenant unreasonably withholds consent; or

(d) If the tenant is absent from the premises for a period of time equal to one-half the time for periodic rental payments. If the rent is current and the tenant notifies the landlord of an intended absence, then the landlord may enter only with the consent of the tenant or for the protection or preservation of the premises.

(3) The landlord shall not abuse the right of access nor use it to harass the tenant.(emphasis added) from this link

At a quick glance, it looks as though the burden of proof is on you as tenant to prove landlord abuse. I've not yet found anything about leasing to you while a property is for sale or what happens when he sells.

I'll keep looking; for whatever that is worth.

[tabasco]

13. The landlord has to give you reasonable notice

before entering the property, unless it is an emergency. 12 hours is reasonable.

You have rights of possession as the lessee and the right of quiet enjoyment.

Here's a link:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0083/SEC53.HTM&Title=-%3E2007-%3ECh0083-%3ESection%2053#0083.53

[Cerridwen]

14. One more quote and link for you.

83.57 Termination of tenancy without specific term.--A tenancy without a specific duration, as defined in s. 83.46(2) or (3), may be terminated by either party giving written notice in the manner provided in s. 83.56(4), as follows:

(1) When the tenancy is from year to year, by giving not less than 60 days' notice prior to the end of any annual period;

(2) When the tenancy is from quarter to quarter, by giving not less than 30 days' notice prior to the end of any quarterly period;

(3) When the tenancy is from month to month, by giving not less than 15 days' notice prior to the end of any monthly period; and

(4) When the tenancy is from week to week, by giving not less than 7 days' notice prior to the end of any weekly period. (emphasis added) from this this link

I think you posted elsewhere you have a "year to year" lease - that would mean the landlord must give you a 60 day notice.

As I said earlier, I am not a lawyer. My "take" on this is merely reading the Florida statutes.

[2Design]

18. I have not address for landlord to give any official notification

of anything - I put his mail in a basket in the storage shed - I put notes in there - there is no way for me to officially notify him of anything - this is frustrating

[Cerridwen]

20. Then he has broken that law.

He is required by law to give you his name AND address.

I'm not sure what your resources are for addressing that, however. I'm not a lawyer; I'm not in Florida.

If it's like most states, the burden is on the "victim" to prove they were "victimized" and to seek "redress" themselves. Someone else in this thread posted a link for renters' resources, I think. That may be what you may have to do.

For whatever it's worth, I'm rooting for you. Good Luck!

[Lex]

16. Generally, your lease gives you superior rights to possession over a new owner's.

The new owner must wait until your lease is over and then can give you notice to vacate. The new owner takes the property with the lease.