Tenant Rights

Hurricane Ian caused historic flooding at the Arden Villas Apartment complex near UCF. The Arden Villas apartment complex which is primarily occupied by students who attend University of Central Florida suffered historic flooded as a result of the storm.  The water levels were so high that cars were flooded out and water began breaching the doors, windows and foundations of the first floor apartments.  Residents were forced to evacuate, many requiring the assistance of the National Guard.  There have been newspaper reports that the management office for Arden Villas has not been immediately responsive to the concerns of the residents.

We frequently receive inquiries from potential clients concerning whether the landlord is allowed to charge the two-month early termination fee / liquidated damages which are contained in the addendum to the Lease, if the tenant needs to move out of the unit due to the landlord's failure to maintain the leased premises.  If the tenant follow the proper steps, the tenant can avoid being responsible for these charges or penalties. Florida Lease Early Termination Fee Starting in 2004, Florida landlord were allowed to charge an early termination fee (also known as liquidated damages) not to exceed two months of rent.  In order to charge the early termination fee, a separately signed lease addendum is required to be attached to [...]

One of our toxic mold exposure cases was recently featured on the national television news program, "ABC World News Tonight with David Muir".  The same story also aired on the ABC News magazine, "Nightline".  The case was filed on behalf of our clients Bruce Nicholson, Lisa Daspit and their two year old daughter Brielle against Waypoint Homes.  Waypoint Homes and Invitation Homes are nationwide corporate landlords and are reported to have a combined 9,403 rental homes in South Florida and another 8,829 homes in the Tampa area.  The lawsuit alleges that Waypoint Homes' failure to address the maintenance requests of our clients resulted in the collapse of the ceiling in their living room and the un-mitigated water intrusion resulted in [...]

The Mold Lawyers were recently featured on WSVN Channel 7 news in a segment called "Mold Mystery" for one of our toxic mold lawsuits against the Oakwood Manor Apartments in Hollywood, Florida.  Three of our clients filed suit against the building owners for toxic mold exposure resulting from water intrusion from an unrepaired roof.  Channel 7 news did a special report on the hidden health dangers of living in an apartment or home with toxic black mold and potential health effects that one can suffer from exposure to the mold.  If you have toxic mold in your home, it is important to take immediate action and we recommend reading our mold guide on the proper steps to take if you have been [...]

Mold lawyer Matthew Militzok successfully defended an eviction action brought by the landlord of a home against the tenants.  Prior to the landlord filing the eviction, the tenants had put the landlord on written notice that the property did not meet minimum housing standards due to the on-going and substantial roof leaks and the rampant growth of toxic black mold in the property.  When the tenants withheld rent after the landlord refused to fix the issues with the home, the landlord posted a 3-day notice to pay rent or vacate.  When the tenants refused to do either, the landlord decided to sue the tenants for eviction.  After depositing the disputed rent money into the court registry, as required by Florida Statutes [...]

Our office receives numerous requests from tenants regarding how they can legally withhold rent due to the presence of toxic black mold in the property that they are renting.  Due to the climate in South Florida, many residential tenants experience a high occurrence of water leaks which, if left untreated, can result in the growth of black toxic mold.  We usually get complaints from tenants who have verbally informed their landlords about water leaks and mold, but usually landlords do not take these complaints seriously or do not want to spend the necessary money to have the problem fixed properly and legally. Withholding Rent Under Florida's Landlord-Tenant Act The Florida landlord-tenant act requires landlords to maintain minimum housing standards when renting property [...]