The Bosshardt Blog

What Repairs is Your Florida Landlord Required to Make Under the Landlord Tenant Act

A friend of mine emailed me late last night about a maintenance problem he is having in his apartment complex. The Florida Landlord Tenant Act was written with many  Unconscionable landlord practices in mind. Here is what my friend wrote:

My shower is not working and like i said before its been going on for about a week now even after i have called, plus i have put in work orders for my toilet which had a slow leak in it and then my heater kept going out on me, so before i make an issue with the front office i just want to know where can i find that info so i will have something to support my complaint.  I already know they are going to hit me hard with all sort of stuff but if i have my information straight and ducks in a row, there is nothing they can say.  I was also going to see if they could give me a copy of all my work orders i complained about but knowing them they will probably say they don't have them...anyway thanks for your time and i appreciate you in advance for relaying that rental information to me...take care

Sections 83.51 and 83.52 of the Florida Statues address the landlord and tenant responsibilities respectively when it comes to maintaining the premises. I've included them at the bottom of this post and I highlighted the relevant sections to my friend's situation. The division of consumer services has an informative brochure for Landlord Tenants issues and would be a great resource as well.

Additionally, all leases should have a section dealing with the Landlord's right to access the property. There will also be a clause in here about emergency access to make "emergency repairs". This really addresses repairs that MUST be made immediately to keep the property habitable. All Landlord's have a duty to keep their properties habitable. Here is an example of what we define as emergency repairs:

1) Security - Broken locks, window locks and smoke detectors.

2) Major Water Leaks – Broken pipes or seriously clogged drains.

3) No Heat

4) No Water

5) Sewer Backups

6) Gas Leaks or electrical appliances especially refrigerators.

The first thing that should grab your attention is that air conditioning is not on this list. Florida does allow you to specifically state in the lease that the landlord is not required to maintain the air conditioning. We don't do this, but due to the backlog of a/c repairs in the summertime it can often take a week or two to facilitate a significant repair. I mention this because when a tenant has an A/C issue we stay in contact with them daily until the repairs are done. I certainly wouldn't want my family to live in a house in Gainesville during the summer without air conditioning.

The bottom line in this case is the landlord has a duty to provide running water and functional plumbing facilities. I think my friend can put the Landlord on notice that he intends to withhold rent until the property is returned to habitable standards. If you ever do this make sure you deliver a written notice at least seven days prior to the next rental period to the Landlord and keep a copy for your records noting on it that date and time it was delivered and the person it was delivered to. A signature or receipt would even be better and certified mail would be best. My guess is that the landlord will fix the problem immediately upon receipt and so it shouldn't be an issue after that.

A Landlord could raise a lot of defenses to these types of maintenance issues, but the only one I think a tenant should be mindful of and that a judge will really hear is the statuary language I've highlighted below that the landlord is not responsible for damage cause by the tenants negligence or wrongful acts.

 

83.51  Landlord's obligation to maintain premises.--

(1)  The landlord at all times during the tenancy shall:

(a)  Comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health codes; or

(b)  Where there are no applicable building, housing, or health codes, maintain the roofs, windows, screens, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, and all other structural components in good repair and capable of resisting normal forces and loads and the plumbing in reasonable working condition. However, the landlord shall not be required to maintain a mobile home or other structure owned by the tenant.

The landlord's obligations under this subsection may be altered or modified in writing with respect to a single-family home or duplex.

(2)(a)  Unless otherwise agreed in writing, in addition to the requirements of subsection (1), the landlord of a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times during the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for:

1.  The extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs. When vacation of the premises is required for such extermination, the landlord shall not be liable for damages but shall abate the rent. The tenant shall be required to temporarily vacate the premises for a period of time not to exceed 4 days, on 7 days' written notice, if necessary, for extermination pursuant to this subparagraph.

2.  Locks and keys.

3.  The clean and safe condition of common areas.

4.  Garbage removal and outside receptacles therefor.

5.  Functioning facilities for heat during winter, running water, and hot water.

(b)  Unless otherwise agreed in writing, at the commencement of the tenancy of a single-family home or duplex, the landlord shall install working smoke detection devices. As used in this paragraph, the term "smoke detection device" means an electrical or battery-operated device which detects visible or invisible particles of combustion and which is listed by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Factory Mutual Laboratories, Inc., or any other nationally recognized testing laboratory using nationally accepted testing standards.

(c)  Nothing in this part authorizes the tenant to raise a noncompliance by the landlord with this subsection as a defense to an action for possession under s. 83.59.

(d)  This subsection shall not apply to a mobile home owned by a tenant.

(e)  Nothing contained in this subsection prohibits the landlord from providing in the rental agreement that the tenant is obligated to pay costs or charges for garbage removal, water, fuel, or utilities.

(3)  If the duty imposed by subsection (1) is the same or greater than any duty imposed by subsection (2), the landlord's duty is determined by subsection (1).

(4)  The landlord is not responsible to the tenant under this section for conditions created or caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant's family, or other person on the premises with the tenant's consent.

History.--s. 2, ch. 73-330; s. 22, ch. 82-66; s. 4, ch. 87-195; s. 1, ch. 90-133; s. 3, ch. 93-255; s. 444, ch. 95-147; s. 8, ch. 97-95.

83.52  Tenant's obligation to maintain dwelling unit.--The tenant at all times during the tenancy shall:

(1)  Comply with all obligations imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions of building, housing, and health codes.

(2)  Keep that part of the premises which he or she occupies and uses clean and sanitary.

(3)  Remove from the tenant's dwelling unit all garbage in a clean and sanitary manner.

(4)  Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant clean and sanitary and in repair.

(5)  Use and operate in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances, including elevators.

(6)  Not destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises or property therein belonging to the landlord nor permit any person to do so.

(7)  Conduct himself or herself, and require other persons on the premises with his or her consent to conduct themselves, in a manner that does not unreasonably disturb the tenant's neighbors or constitute a breach of the peace.

Commercial Realtors Push Changes to "Tax Extenders Package" as It Heads to the US Senate

The push is on to get the US Senate to reconsider extending certain Bush tax credits at the expense of commercial and residential investment property. The two big talking points are on a change in tax treatment and a change in reporting to the IRS that might just be the tipping point that pushes small individual landlords over the edge. The current bill sent to the US Senate by the US House has all Landlords required to provide a 1099 to any vendor they paid more then $600. That basically means you will have to hire an accounting firm if you're a landlord. Of course the other big issue is that if the bill is passed as written real estate investors will have to pay ordinary tax rates on investment income. I feel, and you will see below, that perhaps the most relevant talking point is that the increase in taxes could strangle an already fragile real estate market.

I've included the official talking points for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and Certified Commercial Investment Members' (CCIM). At Bosshardt Property Management we might benefit by the new change to reporting, but I can't stand to see the self made real estate investors trampled on anymore then they already have been. Our area is extremely landlord unfriendly already in both policy and taxation. They like to encourage the big national corporations to be the local landlords. I just don't like it, because our country was built on the back of smart working class people being able to make patient investments in real estate and build for their retirement. Not to mention that the National Apartment chains don't care or give back to our community. Without further ado here are the official talking points for Commercial Realtors:

Carried Interest Discussion Points:

·        Approximately $1 trillion of commercial and residential rental real estate is held privately in America today.  The great majority of these properties are held by partnerships.  Changing the tax rates on carried interest from capital gains rates to ordinary income rates would be devastating to these businesses.

·        Real estate investments are designed as long-term investments.  The capital is "patient" because property owners take major risks and hold the asset for long periods of time before seeing a gain, thus should be taxed at capital gains rates. 

·        Unlike hedge fund managers, capital gains treatment for general partners involved in real estate partnerships is an appropriate incentive for risk-taking.  The direct risks include environmental issues, loan guarantees, and lawsuits, to name a few.

·        Drives investors to put their money elsewhere such as stocks with much more favorable tax treatment. Creates a disincentive to investing in real estate since many would no longer earn a reasonable profit. Stifles growth in a part of our economy which has become increasingly important over the last several years due to manufacturing, call centers, and other key industries moving offshore. Punishes partners involved with prior arranged transactions by causing a totally different economic result than all partners agreed with in advance. Fails to recognize that real estate investors are involved in their investments daily, while hedge fund managers are not involved daily in their investments.

·        The real estate industry, in all its commercial, multi-family and individual investment categories, is very fragile at present, and is likely to remain so.  These new tax burdens on real estate owners will impair and delay further recovery.

 IRS Form 1099 Discussion Points:

 ·        Many rental property owners are “little guys” using the property as an investment or as part of a retirement savings plan.  They are not aware of the IRS requirements.

 ·        Requiring rental property owners to file an IRS Form 1099 for each contractor requires hiring of a tax professional, which is an extraordinary expense for many owners.

 ·        Unintentional non-compliance will result in costly penalties, which many owners are ill-equipped to pay.

 ·        This requirement can be viewed as a trap for the unwary.

There you have it. I don't know if its clear cut or it just depends on which side of the political spectrum you are on. I know we are going to have to pay more taxes to pay for all of our recent spending. I just don't think it needs to come from the real estate market. Real Estate taxes and fees are high enough as it is.  I know the federal government doesn't see any of that money, but the States and Municipalities are getting plenty enough for all of them.

Do you remember when picking up trash was a good thing? "Put it in the can Gator Fan" gets local business man time in Jail!

Wow! I just cant get enough of this one. Local towing businessman Stan Forron got arrested for picking up trash at a property his tow company services. If you don't believe me read the article in today's Gainesville Sun

Let me tell you first that I know Stan. He has contracts for some of the properties we manage at Bosshardt Property Management, LLC, now let me also tell you that at one point he towed both my car and my wife's car at the same time. My wife was 8 months pregnant and his credit car machine was down, so we had to walk a mile in the blistering midday florida heat to get to an ATM so we could walk back and get our cars out of lock down.

But, the reality is that our cars were both parked illegally. I think that lot was pretty trashy too, so I guess I can assume that it was because Tow truck operators better think twice before picking up trash.

I know that nobody likes the tow truck guy. His is basically regarded as the ultimate villain in America. We love our cars, and we never had adequate parking.

Nobody likes Landlords either, so landlords better take notice.While Landlords are certainly not as widely despised as towing companies I've noticed that the city of Gainesville probably holds them in equal regard. Have you ever noticed how the city of Gainesville really doesn't like tenants at all either. There is no public support for this opinion though, so they like to label anti tenant legislation as "Landlord" legislation. That's another issue for another day.

Back to prison time for trash pickup, it just seems to send the wrong message. I'm disappointed that the states attorney's office would even waste their time and our money in what seems to be sour grapes from a company that lost out on a contract. Which begs the question of why?

Is this where our tax payer dollars are going? I hope not. I hope too that two truck companies are allowed to do some good deeds from time to time as well. It just better not be an enticement to win a contract!

The tax credit comes to end. Sure the closings should keep us busy, but where do we go from here?