Unlawful Eviction Judge ruled - "smoking is incurable"

L

LauraD383

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
My landlord entered my apartment on on Friday October 16 "claiming" an emergency. Then took pictures of my entire apartment. She left a note saying I had to (it was messy and I smoked. I did not know it was in the lease) and return the property to the condition she rented it to me in. The letter also states she was coming to inspect on Sunday October 18. I did not let her in, mostly because she has been very intrusive since I moved here and I wanted legal advice. She left a notice titled "7 days to cure" which states I must move in 7 days. I filed my answer with the county clerk. The hearing was today. I stated in court I would not smoke in the apartment anymore. The judge ruled in her favor reason being that my smoking in the apartment was incurable. How can this happen? I did not cause willful destruction or damage to the rental unit or repeatedly violate the lease after being told to fix the violation as it states in the florida statute. I really do not want this on my record and it feels unjustifiable. Please help!
 
LauraD383 said:
My landlord entered my apartment on on Friday October 16 "claiming" an emergency. Then took pictures of my entire apartment. She left a note saying I had to (it was messy and I smoked. I did not know it was in the lease) and return the property to the condition she rented it to me in. The letter also states she was coming to inspect on Sunday October 18. I did not let her in, mostly because she has been very intrusive since I moved here and I wanted legal advice. She left a notice titled "7 days to cure" which states I must move in 7 days. I filed my answer with the county clerk. The hearing was today. I stated in court I would not smoke in the apartment anymore. The judge ruled in her favor reason being that my smoking in the apartment was incurable. How can this happen? I did not cause willful destruction or damage to the rental unit or repeatedly violate the lease after being told to fix the violation as it states in the florida statute. I really do not want this on my record and it feels unjustifiable. Please help!
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You should always read your lease before signing to be sure you know what is in it. It seems the judge has ruled. You are certainly free to talk to a lawyer in your area.
 
LauraD383 said:
My landlord entered my apartment on on Friday October 16 "claiming" an emergency. Then took pictures of my entire apartment. She left a note saying I had to (it was messy and I smoked. I did not know it was in the lease) and return the property to the condition she rented it to me in. The letter also states she was coming to inspect on Sunday October 18. I did not let her in, mostly because she has been very intrusive since I moved here and I wanted legal advice. She left a notice titled "7 days to cure" which states I must move in 7 days. I filed my answer with the county clerk. The hearing was today. I stated in court I would not smoke in the apartment anymore. The judge ruled in her favor reason being that my smoking in the apartment was incurable. How can this happen? I did not cause willful destruction or damage to the rental unit or repeatedly violate the lease after being told to fix the violation as it states in the florida statute. I really do not want this on my record and it feels unjustifiable. Please help!
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Its YOUR responsibility to READ your lease and understand what it says.
Most people read the lease before they sign the lease.
Sorry, nothing you can do now, but appeal the eviction, if you have a few thousand dollars lying around.


You can file a notice of appeal at the court(court clerk's office) that rendered the judgment.

You must provide copies of documentation to support why you think the eviction was unjust.

You will have to hire a process server to serve your landlord(the court clerk will help you to find a server if you do not have one).

Pay a surety bond, normally an eviction appeal requires you to pay such a bond.

The amount is fixed at the discretion of the judge.

You must also file a motion for a stay of enforcement if the hearing date is beyond the date of eviction is scheduled to occur.

Then you must continue to pay your rent, unless your landlord refuses to accept it.
In the latter instance, you must place the entire rent amount into an escrow account.

Finally, during the appeals process UNLESS a stay (is requested and granted) you might have to vacate the apartment, anyway.

Bottom line, an appeal isn't easy, is rarely successful, and not the place anyone wants to be!!!!
 
Smokers are so used to the smell on themselves that they never realized how powerful (and unpleasant) the smell is to non-smokers. If you've been smoking in a non-smoking apartment it's going to take SERIOUS work on her part to completely get the smell out. Depending on how long this has been happening I'm thinking having to re-paint and re-carpet. Yes, I am serious. i am a non-smoker. I used to work at a hotel that was completely non-smoking. I could tell from the front desk in the lobby if someone was smoking in one of the rooms, and we'd have to take the room out of service for a minimum of three days before we'd have enough of the smell out to rent it again.
 
LauraD383 said:
I stated in court I would not smoke in the apartment anymore. The judge ruled in her favor reason being that my smoking in the apartment was incurable. How can this happen?
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The judge didn't believe you and neither do I. You need move and find a place that allows smoking in the apartment.

Wherever you go, read the lease before you sign it and make sure you have a copy when you sign it, even if you have to photograph it with your camera phone.
 
So I just deal with this evection following me around for the rest of my life as if I completely and intentionally destroyed an apartment like some sort of criminal? The statute states if I broke the lease agreement I should have been given 7 days to correct the problem. If I violated again within 12 months then I could be evicted. The paperwork was wrong on her end she gave me 1 day to cure then a letter of lease cancelation. Nowhere was the landlord claiming an incurable situation. What happened is clearly against the state statute. How is it in any sense ok when a judge does not follow statute, making up his own law and processes while striping people of their rights? What country do I live in?
 
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The judge ruled that the damage caused by your smoking wasn't incurable. Smoking can be stopped, so it isn't the act itself.

Apparently the judge felt that your smoking violated the terms of the lease, substantially so that you were in breach of the leasehold. As a result, judgement for the landlord.

Unfortunately, an eviction can sting a person for decades. You're right, it's the equivalent of a life sentence to be on the losing end of an eviction lawsuit as a renter.

No, there's nothing more you can do, except to never violate a lease again and try to move on with your life.

Look, if there were a magic formula to help you, we'd be happy to share it with you. There isn't a magic potion, or a magic phrase that can fix this mess.

We're just a small dot on the massive Internet. We have no authority to do very much, if anything. We're sorry this happened to you, but there's nothing we can do for you, EXCEPT to tell you to talk to an attorney in your county. That's all you have left, sorry, and all the attorney will do is confirm what we've told you.

It sometimes helps us to hear the same message from someone we trust!!!!
 
I appreciate your response. Breaching the lease or not the judge did not follow statute. If you guys are lawyers you all really need to do some more homework along with this judge.
 
LauraD383 said:
I appreciate your response. Breaching the lease or not the judge did not follow statute. If you guys are lawyers you all really need to do some more homework along with this judge.
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Maybe you should have paid more attention to the site's TOS:
When you submit a question or make a comment on our site or in our law forum, you clearly imply that you are interested in receiving answers, opinions and responses from other people. The people providing legal help and who respond are volunteers who may not be lawyers, legal professionals or have any legal training or experience.
 
If you were smoking in that apartment and did it multiple times, the landlord is going to incur substantial expense in ridding the smell from the place. It seeps into flooring which means new floors. It can even seep into walls which may mean having to replace the sheetrock or repaint and seal them in the hopes it dissipates. Same with any cabinetry or appliances. It may never be able to rented to someone with smoke sensitivity or asthma. Your promise not to continue to ruin their property rings hollow and is too little too late. The place is ruined. You already broke your promise you made when you signed a lease that smoking was prohibited.
 
You were advised that you can file an appeal, with very detailed instructions on the process. That's the country you live in. When you don't agree with the judge you file an appeal. What are you expecting anyone to say different?
 
LauraD383 said:
I appreciate your response. Breaching the lease or not the judge did not follow statute. If you guys are lawyers you all really need to do some more homework along with this judge.
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There are INNOCENT people rotting in prisons all across this country.
Each day, maybe one or two will be set free!!!
Appealing any verdict is very often ineffective.
I am a lawyer.
I have been a lawyer for decades, and I often speak before young people about the law.
I always admonish the audiences, "Obey their laws, because getting out of trouble is much harder than getting into trouble!"
In other words, people rarely get verdicts overturned, and when a person does, it takes years to achieve that result!!!
You have been given honest answers to your problem.
You caused your problem, not the judge, not the landlord, YOU and YOU alone caused your problem.

It's too late now....

 

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