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Old 10-30-2014, 08:49 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
54 posts, read 89,245 times
Reputation: 175

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I've never paid for anything to be fixed in an apartment and I never would. I would just buy a condo if I had to start paying for repairs. Never heard of a tenant paying for repairs of any dollar amount.
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Old 10-30-2014, 09:00 PM
 
Location: Long Island, NY
1,898 posts, read 2,806,327 times
Reputation: 2558
Yes it is legal. Florida Statute 83.51 outlines the obligations that a landlord has to maintain a rental property, but these obligations can be modified with respect to single family houses and duplexes.
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Old 10-31-2014, 06:07 AM
 
27,206 posts, read 46,532,718 times
Reputation: 15656
Quote:
Originally Posted by kerriella View Post
My lease has a clause that states, "Tenant shall be responsible for the first $300 of any and each separate service call, maintenance, repair, trip charge and/or vendor fees, regardless of the cause or if a code violation."

Is this legal?
Absolutely legal if you signed it and agreed to it. I would never sign it

Btw I'm a property manager as well as a Landlord for my own rentals and we have owners who hired us after they already had a lease like that in place and we never liked it and usually it is even worse for the house since often tenants will stuff left instead of fixed in a timely manner to avoid paying.
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Old 10-31-2014, 06:28 AM
 
Location: City Data Land
17,156 posts, read 12,857,051 times
Reputation: 33164
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enigma777 View Post
It may vary by state, but every lease I have seen has a clause that repairs under $_____ are to paid by tenants. Most of the figures I have seen are $75 to $100. $300 sounds rather high. It also has to do with what the repairs are. If they are related to the place being habitable (water, etc.) I am under the impression the landlord is responsible. That clause about paying for a code violation does not sound right, as the landlord will get the violation--not the renter.

I would not sign a lease holding renters responsible for that percentage of a repair. There may be an issue that is important to you but the landlord doesn't agree a repair needs to be made.

Renters' Rights to Minor Repairs | Nolo.com
That sure wouldn't fly with me. Landlords can't have it both ways. If they want to make money by renting out their place, they need to pay for all repairs (that the tenant didn't cause via negligence). I've only rented a couple of times in my life and I haven't seen this. I sure am grateful I own now
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Old 10-31-2014, 07:11 AM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,434,581 times
Reputation: 26726
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks View Post
I've only rented a couple of times in my life and I haven't seen this. I sure am grateful I own now
I've dealt with hundreds of leases - commercial, residential, condos, apartments in complexes, SFHs, etc, and have never seen such a clause, even though I've heard of them.
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Old 10-31-2014, 07:23 AM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,391,831 times
Reputation: 23222
Not common here... but, I have seen it in Hawaii...

Sounds too simplistic and leaves out the reason for repair... tenant caused or not.
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Old 10-31-2014, 07:26 AM
 
Location: Riverside Ca
22,146 posts, read 33,209,527 times
Reputation: 35433
I've heard of them. Haven't actually seen a lease stating that clause. For me the only time I pass a repair on to my tenants is if they caused the repair to happen in the first place through negligence or basically caused by them by inattentiveness or accident. If something just breaks/wears out from use that's not their fault. But to charge them for the first x dollars of the repair that's not really their responsibility? No that's not fair. Normal repairs maintenance and upkeep to the property are my responsibility not the tenants. In fact I don't really like tenants doing any work or contracting out for work.
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Old 10-31-2014, 07:39 AM
 
671 posts, read 884,087 times
Reputation: 1250
The law states a baseline..A contract is a detailed agreement signed by both parties...For instance the law states freedom of speech is a right,a contract has a no disclosure agreement...You signed it...Ignorance is not a get out of jail free card..Sorry Charlie...
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Old 11-03-2014, 02:13 AM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,812 posts, read 32,258,091 times
Reputation: 38559
Quote:
Originally Posted by reenzz View Post
Yes it is legal. Florida Statute 83.51 outlines the obligations that a landlord has to maintain a rental property, but these obligations can be modified with respect to single family houses and duplexes.
^^^ Hard to believe, but true.

OP, if you are renting a single family home or a duplex, the landlord can put this clause in your lease, legally. I'm always amazed at what landlords can get away with in Florida.

Here's a link to the actual text of this section of the law:

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

You can negotiate to have this taken out of your lease renewal, or at least modified. Especially if the landlord wants to raise the rent - and if he wants you to stay.
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Old 11-03-2014, 03:47 AM
 
105,691 posts, read 107,682,511 times
Reputation: 79324
in my early days as a landlord i used to offer a rebate on the rent. i would give the tenant back 25.00 bucks if they paid me by the 5th of the month and paid for the first 25.00 in repairs if needed.

this was back in the 1980's so 25 bucks went alot further but it worked well keeping the tenants paying me promptly..
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