Rental Property Question-Florida Legal Questions-No Opinions, Please?

Question

I have a rental house, with tenants. The A/C went out at the house, and they have been calling me...I use a management company who handles everything for me. My property manager has other units as well, and has another property with a broken A/C, so he is attacking one at a time, in the order in which they were called in. He won't get out there until tomorrow, rendering my tenants without A/C for a day. Is this a violation of the Florida Landlord/Tenant Statute? They are saying they will need to go to a hotel, it's too hot....I'm assuming they mean to ask me to pay the bill for that. My management company has much more experience in this than I do.....so I trust them, I just don't want to get hit up with charges for the A/C being out for a day. Any people out there who know Florida Landlord/Tenant Law? I'm reading through the statutes, and I can't find anything specifically pertaining to fixing an A/C unit.....Thanks in advance

I think they did not like what my management company told them for a time frame.....I guess I really shouldn't be talking to them........I think I'm really to soft to be a landlord!

Well, as far as breaking the lease, they have just given me a 15 day notice....so much for common courtesy on both sides.....

Thanks for the answers, the tenants actually gave their short notice before the a/c went out, not because of it. In the statutes, it looks like I have 7 days to fix....the manager went out there, looked at the unit and it kicked on...so I'm good now, but an interesting topic!

Answer 1

If the house is not habitable, then you will have to deduct one day's hotel fee from the rent you collect. Not the rate of the Hilton, but of a regular hotel. Whether the house is habitable depends on many factors. How hot was it, what was the humidity, does the construction of the house affect the interior temperature, etc.

Bottom line: it's far more expensive to hire me to fight this than it is to simply let them deduct the costs of the hotel.

That being said, there is no reason the management company couldn't get someone out there to fix it unless the air conditioner broke after business hours. Tell your management company they will either reimburse you for the hotel or you will find a new management company. It's the company's job to make sure the unit is habitable at all times. That's why it gets a percentage of your rent.

Answer 2

Yay ace and I disagreeing again. I dont know floridian law. They rented a house it came with an air conditioner. Now it doesnt. You want to fight with them that they can break the lease because they no longer have what they want?

This has happend to me before. It was 100 degrees and a call is made. It was 100 outside but maybe 120 inside, that is way too hot. They would have a massive lawsuit. I dont care what the law is, a jury would always pick them.

My insurance just said we wont win this. We will pay for their hotel until its fixed. It was 2 weeks. But the insurance company knew they would lose if they got sued. They were more concered if somebody got dehydrated or might die of heat. If its 1 night or 2 nights. Just pay for a hotel room. Its not worth the trouble.

********* update ********

If you can be pissed because they cancelled the lease. Call your property manager. He/she totally F****** this up. This is a major issue to people and I would have moved out too.

Your property manager totally messed this up, fire him/her.

Answer 3

You are in the clear here. There is no need to go to a hotel for ONE day because it's too hot. It does not make your unit uninhabitable.

Now, why on earth are you even talking to these people, if you have a management firm handling this for you ? That's what you pay the management firm for. Next time someone calls with a complaint, simply refer them back to management. They ARE your authorized agent.