[Californianz]

Here's the deal - we rented an awful condition house due to lack of choices for what we needed - 7 months, 2 car garage, allows a dog. Part of the "fine print" in the contract states we must pay the first $100 of any repairs and maintenance - but this statement is made after also saying "caused by negligence or improper use".

The thing is, this was an abandoned foreclosure house, filled with mold and bugs and just painted over and rented. Some low budget improvements were made, but it's bare minimum livable and I have had minor heath issues related to the mold which may not have been remediated properly, if at all.

We have had three incidences of repairs so far.

1. Ancient toilet internal parts failure (constant running - they fixed)
2. Heavy rain caused an electrical short somewhere which temporarily took out the power in the garage. (service call was made but the issue resolved itself when the rain stopped)
3. Compete failure of the A/C system requiring full replacement

ALL of these things are directly due to the substandard condition of the property.
Slumlord has divulged intent to charge us for at least #1 & #2....and we fully expect #3 will be added for good measure.

We believe that all of these items were failures due to the substandard condition of the property as it was given to us, and we should not be held responsible for repairing or upgrading it .

And now the question - is it certain they will deduct all this from the security deposit - is worth fighting and taking them to small claims court? (Loser pay court costs, but not the other's court related expenses AFAIK....filing fee and summons may end up being another $150) Of course they are banking on us not being smart or determined enough to do this.

Go ahead, tell us we have absolutely no case.

[runswithscissors]

Read the Landlord Tenant statue with a fine tooth comb and make sure you give your notice properly and that HE NOTIFIES YOU PROPERLY.

It's tricky. MY landlord did NOT NOTIFY me properly about claims he made against my deposit but I had already MOVED 4 hours away with a business so it would have cost me more to go to court.

If he makes THOSE claims, he will not prevail IMO. A running toilet? LOL sure that's the tenant's fault /sarc

I hope you have a receipt from the plumber. I would threaten to bring the plumber TO COURT to testify if it were me haha. However you DID agree to pay the first 100.00 of repairs. I don't know that to be standard in a lease and I guess it boils down to simple contract law not if the judge thinks it's "fair" when it comes to that part of the lease.

If he FAILS TO NOTIFY YOU PROPERLY AND TIMELY he looses his right to withhold damages, essentially.

- Chapter 83 - 2011 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate

[NowSoFlorida]

There should be no court cost to the person being sued unless they file a counter claim. If you win the person you sue pays your filing fee. In some states you can get back 3 times as much if they withheld money that they were not supposed to. If you file you may just be throwing away good money. You can't really file until you leave and he has deducted what he feels he's owed and returned the rest. You signed a bad contract, you may have to eat it.

[jghorton]

Ironically, you seem focused on incidental issues that could happen anywhere (running toilets, storm-caused electrical failure) .... and ignoring the real problems: 'Awful condition house', mold, bugs, bare-minimum livable, etc. ?? -- Neither of the first two issues seem to be something for which you should be responsible (except for your 'first $100' clause?).

Is there something about the A/C that you haven't mentioned ... or which leads you to believe you might somehow be considered responsible for the complete failure?? (It's hard to imagine how something that has an extended lifespan could somehow be attributed entirely to something that happened in the last 7 months).

In any case, if you are clearly responsible for damage to someone else's property through negligence or improper use, then you should pay; ... But, if you are not responsible, you should not pay. Are you prepared to move and have you located another rental? ... that may be your option, since a court case (even small claims) is probably not going to be financially justifiable for either of you.

[Mike1306]

Just reading the lease I would say you don't have a shot in hell of winning. It clearly states, "Tenant agrees to pay the first $100 of any and all costs involved with any repairs and maintenance."
You knew this when you moved in and the condition of the house should have given you reason to think further but you didn't.
Some landlords use this clause because they don't want to be nickeled and dimed.

[sware2cod]

please post the EXACT wording from the lease that you are referencing and also include the part about negikgence/improper use. We need those exact words.

If you agreed to pay for 100.00 of all repairs, then you are on the hook for what you agreed to. Hopefully he is only charging you for first 100.00 of each repair.

IF you agreed to pay the first 100.00 ONLY if negligence/abuse, then you can fight the 100.00 charges in the 3 scenarios about.

THE BIG QUESTION: What did you agree to in the lease? We need the wording in reference to negligence/abuse to try to decifer what you signed in the lease. So far it sounds like you agreed to pay first 100.00 of each issue. Let's see the wording that would negate it.

FYI..there is a Real Estate forumn with a Rental subforum on here. Lots of folks that are familiar with leases and such post there.

I dont think you are debating over security deposit?? Is he expecting you send the 100.00 x3 next month or is he saying it comes out of security deposit after you move?? If he will take from sec deposit you deal with that later and there are ways to handle. first off, please post the exact lease wording. You might be on the hook if you agreed.

[Occifer]

If he's going to charge you $100 for each repair, based upon the lease he will have to be able to prove that the damage was caused by your negligence or improper use. It SOUNDS like he will have a difficult time doing that, but who knows who he would have available to testify on his behalf. If he's the one paying the contractor who fixes the problems, they may actually take his side since I'm sure they do plenty of work for him. Either way, I would imagine that you would refuse to pay the $100 and the money would be taken from your security deposit at the end of the lease. You wouldn't be able to go forward with any legal action until the time that a part of your deposit was not returned. As has previously been stated, make yourself familiar with Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes, especially in the area of what must be documented in order to keep security deposits. If you do take him to court and win, he will have to pay your court costs.

As to the issues with mold and potential health issues caused by mold that has not been remediated, I would suggest contacting an attorney. If you have health problems caused by mold that the landlord won't fix, that is going to be a much larger issue than $300 worth of repairs. You should be able to find an attorney who will at least offer you a free consultation as to any potential legal remedies for that.

[blueherons]

You signed a legal and binding contract agreeing to be responsible for the first $100 of any repairs so you cannot get out of that.

As far as mold goes, that is a whole other issue.

By law a landlord has to make a dwelling livable and safe.

[victimb4]

Did you check and see if the place was being legally rented to you