eviction question?

Question

i had recently asked landlord to fix things in my rental and for extermination he only exterminated for 3 weeks,we still have a major problem and he wouldnt continue.So we hired a lawyer they served him with a 7 day notice to do repairs and extermination.My lawyer advised me to withold rent until it was done.He sends me a 3 day pay or leave notice stating that we broke the lease because some mini blinds were messed up which has been replaced.He never gave us a warning verbally or in writting until he recieved the letter of fixing things or we withold rent.Could this be constued as retalitory eviction?And if so what can i do to stop it or will it hold up in court?If its proven hes evicting us in retaliation then what happens?I live in florida and have been going back and forth with him for 6 months or so now but i got the notice a couple days ago.

Answer 1

Yeah completely illegal. He cannot even evict you in 3 days if you didn't have a reason for witholding--if you just didn't have the money and didn't pay, he still must wait 30 days, go to court, file eviction procedures, etc. It must be in writing b/c "he said, she said" doesn't tend to work in court.

So yeah--don't move out. If he tries anything to move you out, call the cops. Thats what we call an illegal eviction. Even if you don't have a lease, you would be a month to month tenet and he is still required to give you 30 days notice. Just like you are required to give him 30 days. Mini blinds would come from your security deposit.

What will happen is you will go to court and the judge will determine if the conditions were worth all your rent being withheld or if you have to pay $100-200 a month for living there.

Answer 2

If it is retaliatory, then the eviction will be dismissed and the court will usually note that a bogus eviction was filed. In some states, this results in an order that your lease must be renewed for two years following the retaliation (landlord must offer, but you are free to move away).

The key here is that the landlord has broken the warranty of habitability by failing to keep the vermin out. The miniblinds issue is obviously bogus.

You are entitled to a rent rebate for the entire time that the vermin has been affecting your life. So when the eviction is started, you have a counterclaim, which you should prosecute vigorously.

Answer 3

landlords want their money but do not want to fix nothing . it is always a problem with them landlords , but when we want something done , either he send someone to fix the problem or we do not pay rent . even though we did not signed a lease , either way , if he wants his money , fix what we request or are in need of fixing , and than we pay rent . not ALL landlords are like that , but there are still some unreasonable ones around .wish you luck !

Answer 4

Well, you did one smart thing in getting the attorney in, at the start....let him continue.......