Locked out of apartment

[EllieE]

My landlord has been harassing my boyfriend and I almost since we moved in about 6 months ago. The harrassment consists of:
-Blaming us for lighting fireworks in the parking lot (which actually woke us up and was very annoying and then we got blamed for it),
-Blaming us for the police being called for noise (the police didnt knock on our door, only a few other apartments. The landlord called the police department the next day to let them know that it was my boyfriend and I making the noise. It wasnt.
-Blaming us again for noise when my boyfriend wasnt even there and even after we showed him hotel reciepts still didnt believe us and insisted that is was us because someone heard footsteps going up the stairs, and we live up the stairs (so do other people).
This harrassment has made it very uncomfortable living there, we couldnt even use the pool or fitness center out of fear we might run into him and be blamed for something else. We were worried that the next time someone made any kind of noise we would be evicted for it. So, at the end of April we gave them a notice that we would like to be out of the apartment by May 31st and break the lease early, this is earlier than the 2 month stipulation written in the lease but the landlord said he would let us out after 1 month if he rented it to someone else. Since then my boyfriend and I have been cooperative in keeping it clean for showings and letting him have access to the apartment when needed. I have moved out of the apartment already because I got a job in another city. But my boyfriend is planning on staying at the apartment until the lease runs out. We moved out my belongings and left the guest bed, tv, some living room furniture and kitchen equipment in the apartment among other things for my boyfriend to use while he stays there until the lease has ended. My boyfriend just spent 2 days visiting me on his days off and then returned to the apartment to find the locks changed with a note saying that if we want the rest of our stuff we will need to bring rent to the office. Now, I didnt realize my boyfriend hadnt dropped a check off for rent yet (today is the 12th) but I think that is a bit premature for a complete eviction since our rent isnt due until the 5th of the month, so its only 1 week late and we've never been late before. In addition to this, the landlord only has office hours on Monday 10a-1p, and Thurs/Fri 3p-6p, today is Wednesday, theres no way for him to clear this up or give the landlord a check since he wont be around until tomorrow. He doesnt have anywhere to sleep tonight and has no access to his work uniforms.
I am wondering if we can take any legal action against him and the condo association 1. for the verbal harrassment that caused us to want to break the lease early, 2. for evicting us with no attempt to contact us, after the rent was late only 1 week. In the lease, it states a 30 day notice for eviction. This guy has been getting very angry with us and rude, when the new apartment people called to verify residency with him, he was extremely rude and hung up on her and threatened to call her back and tell her things to make us not be able to move if we didnt "cooperate" but we were cooperating. Now that it has gotten this far I wish I had kept the harrassing voicemails. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[army judge]

The landlord can't evict you.
Only a court can legally evict you.
The landlord has illegally locked you out, rent paid or not.
He isn't legally allowed to lock you out.
Speak with a lawyer, ASAP.
Or, bring a case against him in small claims court.
The landlord has big problems, if you pursue this correctly.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

The landlord cannot do an illegal eviction by changing the locks.

However, you did notify him that your move out plans had changed and that your boyfriend had decided to stay until the end of the lease, correct?

And then there's the little problem of being 12 days late on the rent (rent is typically due on the 1st of the month with late fees accumulating after the 5th day).

Gail

 

[EllieE]

My boyfriend was planning on staying until the end of May, not until the end of the original lease, we did not tell him I would be staying elsewhere in the meantime, I am technically still a resident there and hold keys (of course they no longer work though) so we did not think it was necessary to give him details of my employment since my boyfriend would also be out in just a few weeks.

 

[mightymoose]

1. Your harassment complaint won't get anywhere. Let that go.

2. You can sue him in small claims for the lockout. There is likely a specified fine for it, and he will also owe you other reasonable costs that you take on as a result... meaning hotel, food, etc.

He can't legally lock you out for late payment, but he can assess a late fee, which should be specified in the lease. You gave him 30 days notice, so he really had no business doing anything until that time was up. Had he changed the locks after 30 days then it's a different story.

If you haven't really taken on significant expense as a result of the lockout then it probably isn't worth the effort to go through court. When you pay the May rent (plus your late fee), you might want to be prepared to show Florida law and the associated penalty for the lockout that you could be rewarded if you go to court... if he wants to avoid court then he might be willing to deduct the amount of that fee from the rent?? Not likely, but it is worth trying. It will help to cover your loss and gives him a little slap for being naughty.

 

[mightymoose]

My boyfriend was planning on staying until the end of May, not until the end of the original lease, we did not tell him I would be staying elsewhere in the meantime, I am technically still a resident there and hold keys (of course they no longer work though) so we did not think it was necessary to give him details of my employment since my boyfriend would also be out in just a few weeks.

No... it was not necessary. Sometimes a lease might require you to notify the landlord if the apartment will be vacant for an extended period, but that was not the case. It seems that he saw you had moved out most of your furniture and thought you were gone for good... but shame on him for thinking!

 

[EllieE]

I found the following under the Division of Consumer Services Florida Landlord/Tenant Law:

Non-Payment of Rent
Section 83.56(3), F.S.
The landlord must serve you, the tenant, a written notice allowing three days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) for you to pay the rent or move from the premises. If you do not pay the rent or move, he/she may begin legal action to evict you.

In order for the landlord to gain payment of rent or possession of the dwelling, he/she must file suit in county court. If the court agrees with the landlord, you will be notified in writing. You then have five days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) to respond – also in writing – to the court. If you do not respond or a judgment is entered against you, the clerk of the county court will issue a "Writ of Possession" to the sheriff who will notify you that eviction will take place in 24 hours.

Section 83.57, F.S.
Termination of tenancy without a specific term - days of written notice required (prior to termination):

Weekly --------- 7 days
Monthly -------- 15 days
Quarterly ------- 30 days
Yearly ---------- 60 days

Section 83.67, F.S.
Florida Law does not allow a landlord to force a tenant out by:

Shutting off the utilities or interrupting service, even if that service is under the control of or the landlord makes payment;
Changing the locks or using a device that denies the tenant access;
Removing the outside doors, locks, roof, walls or windows (except for purposes of maintenance, repair or replacement); and/or
Removing the tenant's personal property from the dwelling unless action is taken after surrender, abandonment, recovery of possession of the dwelling unit due to the death of the last remaining tenant in accordance with section 83.59(3)(d), or lawful eviction.
If any of these occur, the tenant may sue for actual and consequential damages or three months' rent, whichever is greater, plus court costs and attorney's fees.

Should I approach the landlord with this and threaten to sue? We would just like to get our deposit back and vacate the property without an eviction on our backgrounds. Is this a good idea?

 

[army judge]

I found the following under the Division of Consumer Services Florida Landlord/Tenant Law:

Non-Payment of Rent
Section 83.56(3), F.S.
The landlord must serve you, the tenant, a written notice allowing three days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) for you to pay the rent or move from the premises. If you do not pay the rent or move, he/she may begin legal action to evict you.

In order for the landlord to gain payment of rent or possession of the dwelling, he/she must file suit in county court. If the court agrees with the landlord, you will be notified in writing. You then have five days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) to respond – also in writing – to the court. If you do not respond or a judgment is entered against you, the clerk of the county court will issue a "Writ of Possession" to the sheriff who will notify you that eviction will take place in 24 hours.

Section 83.57, F.S.
Termination of tenancy without a specific term - days of written notice required (prior to termination):

Weekly --------- 7 days
Monthly -------- 15 days
Quarterly ------- 30 days
Yearly ---------- 60 days

Section 83.67, F.S.
Florida Law does not allow a landlord to force a tenant out by:

Shutting off the utilities or interrupting service, even if that service is under the control of or the landlord makes payment;
Changing the locks or using a device that denies the tenant access;
Removing the outside doors, locks, roof, walls or windows (except for purposes of maintenance, repair or replacement); and/or
Removing the tenant's personal property from the dwelling unless action is taken after surrender, abandonment, recovery of possession of the dwelling unit due to the death of the last remaining tenant in accordance with section 83.59(3)(d), or lawful eviction.
If any of these occur, the tenant may sue for actual and consequential damages or three months' rent, whichever is greater, plus court costs and attorney's fees.

Should I approach the landlord with this and threaten to sue? We would just like to get our deposit back and vacate the property without an eviction on our backgrounds. Is this a good idea?

Come on, the threat of a lawsuit doesn't intimidate or scare people.
In fact, it shouldn't.
This dummy believes he has done nothing wrong.
He thinks landlords can do whatever they please to their tenants.

File a lawsuit and let the court do the dirty work for you.
You're in the right.
Talking about this endlessly won't stop the abuse.
His illegal behavior should be exposed.
Sue him and watch what happens.
Go get what the law says he owes you!!!

This is the last sentence in your previous post: If any of these occur, the tenant may sue for actual and consequential damages or three months' rent, whichever is greater, plus court costs and attorney's fees.

You can get THREE MONTH'S rent for what he's done to you.
You're entitled by law to that THREE month's rent!
Don't tip your hand.
Sue him and get THREE times your monthly rental, plus your deposit back, court costs. and even attorney's fees!

 

[mightymoose]

If you present this information to the landlord and he is able to make things whole... compensate you for what you are out, then that might be the best way to go. As I suggested, he MIGHT agree to deduct your damages from the rent you already owe.

If he doesn't go along with it then sue fro three times the monthly rent, as that is surely the higher amount. Do yourself a favor and get a witness or some other kind of evidence that you were actually locked out before he changes the locks back.