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Submitted by DakotaLegal on
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Submitted by DakotaLegal on
There can be several ways to get your deposit back. Before using any of them, consider sending a certified letter with a request for immediate return of your deposit, saying you are considering suing for a rerun of your deposit, with additional damages for breach of Florida’s security deposit law http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html, unless they respond to your request within seven days.
You’ll be using court cases and Florida’s laws on rentals to solve your problem, so be sure to see how the exact facts of your case match up with Florida law regarding security deposits. First, though, see what exactly is in the rental agreement you signed, and the way this agreement may limit your ability to first sue in court for your deposit. The Security Deposit agreement may spell out how much, if any, of your deposit they intend to pay back. Whether that’s fair or not is another argument.
One very common condominium rental clause is an arbitration clause, and here’s a typical Arbitration clause from a typical Florida condominium:
Prior to commencing any legal proceeding against [Landlord], or any of [Landlord's] affiliates, Renter shall give [Landlord] twenty (20) days If [Landlord] elects to have Renter's claim written notice of its claim. submitted to Arbitration, then Renter shall be first obligated to have his or her claim process through Arbitration proceedings pursuant to the rules of the If [Landlord] elects not to submit American Arbitration Association. Renter's claim to Arbitration, then Renter may proceed by Legal process against [Landlord].
Be sure to look carefully in any agreement you signed for time limits. For example, the above arbitration requirement requires the Condominium management to demand arbitration within 20 days. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1468538.html. Even if the agreement you signed says you forfeit all of your deposit, you can argue for a full or partial refund. For example, if you can show that the condominium suffered no loss from your failure to rent, then it may be “unjust enrichment” for them to simply keep your money. You may prove this by finding out that they rented the unit to someone else. This may have resulted in their losing some money, perhaps a week of income.
Based on your eligibility, you may be able to get free legal help from low-cost legal clinics, with four locations in Florida: http://floridalegal.org/. The Florida Public Interest Research Group (known as a PIRG) has also developed special skills in landlord versus tenant issues. You can review these rights: http://www.elparacaidista.com/PIRG_Renters-Rights-2.1.pdf.
The easy question is your last: where to sue. Claims under $5,000 can be in Florida’s more informal and affordable small claims system. You’ll file with the clerk of the court: http://www.flcourts.org/gen_public/family/self_help/smallclaims.shtml. Since the property is located in Broward, that makes the most sense. Palm Beach isn’t that far away, so it’s probably still convenient for you anyway. There can be reasons, though, for why it’s no longer convenient for you to go to Broward for a court hearing: such as having a disability. It’s possible that you might be able to sue in Palm Beach, if you can show that’s where you signed the rental agreement. You will need to sue special forms for landlord/tenant disputes, available here:
http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf/0a92a6dc28e76ae58525700a005d0d53/a2490d4fa31363a88525771200482bdd!OpenDocument.
At this point, you have not mentioned receiving any notice fromthe owners of why they have refused to give you back your security. You’ll especially want to look at the form---Form Number 8---the landlord was supposed to send you (located at the above link) if they intend to refuse to return your security deposit.
There can be several ways to get your deposit back. Before using any of them, consider sending a certified letter with a request for immediate return of your deposit, saying you are considering suing for a rerun of your deposit, with additional damages for breach of Florida’s security deposit law http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html, unless they respond to your request within seven days.
You’ll be using court cases and Florida’s laws on rentals to solve your problem, so be sure to see how the exact facts of your case match up with Florida law regarding security deposits. First, though, see what exactly is in the rental agreement you signed, and the way this agreement may limit your ability to first sue in court for your deposit. The Security Deposit agreement may spell out how much, if any, of your deposit they intend to pay back. Whether that’s fair or not is another argument.
One very common condominium rental clause is an arbitration clause, and here’s a typical Arbitration clause from a typical Florida condominium:
Prior to commencing any legal proceeding against [Landlord], or any of [Landlord's] affiliates, Renter shall give [Landlord] twenty (20) days If [Landlord] elects to have Renter's claim written notice of its claim. submitted to Arbitration, then Renter shall be first obligated to have his or her claim process through Arbitration proceedings pursuant to the rules of the If [Landlord] elects not to submit American Arbitration Association. Renter's claim to Arbitration, then Renter may proceed by Legal process against [Landlord].
Be sure to look carefully in any agreement you signed for time limits. For example, the above arbitration requirement requires the Condominium management to demand arbitration within 20 days. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1468538.html. Even if the agreement you signed says you forfeit all of your deposit, you can argue for a full or partial refund. For example, if you can show that the condominium suffered no loss from your failure to rent, then it may be “unjust enrichment” for them to simply keep your money. You may prove this by finding out that they rented the unit to someone else. This may have resulted in their losing some money, perhaps a week of income.
Based on your eligibility, you may be able to get free legal help from low-cost legal clinics, with four locations in Florida: http://floridalegal.org/. The Florida Public Interest Research Group (known as a PIRG) has also developed special skills in landlord versus tenant issues. You can review these rights: http://www.elparacaidista.com/PIRG_Renters-Rights-2.1.pdf.
The easy question is your last: where to sue. Claims under $5,000 can be in Florida’s more informal and affordable small claims system. You’ll file with the clerk of the court: http://www.flcourts.org/gen_public/family/self_help/smallclaims.shtml. Since the property is located in Broward, that makes the most sense. Palm Beach isn’t that far away, so it’s probably still convenient for you anyway. There can be reasons, though, for why it’s no longer convenient for you to go to Broward for a court hearing: such as having a disability. It’s possible that you might be able to sue in Palm Beach, if you can show that’s where you signed the rental agreement. You will need to sue special forms for landlord/tenant disputes, available here:
http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf/0a92a6dc28e76ae58525700a005d0d53/a2490d4fa31363a88525771200482bdd!OpenDocument.
At this point, you have not mentioned receiving any notice fromthe owners of why they have refused to give you back your security. You’ll especially want to look at the form---Form Number 8---the landlord was supposed to send you (located at the above link) if they intend to refuse to return your security deposit.