is this lease legally binding

[masone3903]

Tenant in Manatee Cty. FL I am in CO.Worked out details with tenant (2 yr. lease) we scanned our signed copy to the tenant, made arrangements via phone & followed up by email that they would deposit 1st & last months & send their signed copy of the lease in the mail they had no access to a scanner. We agreed upon our receipt of the funds we would arrange for them to pick up keys from the neigbor. Deposit made-keys picked up I have email confirmation indicating their acceptance of the lease also indicates they will be putting their signed copy in mail same day. Never did. Is this lease valid? Would their verbal & email acceptance be construed by a judge to be legal & binding?

I am having considerable issues (long & length issues) with this tenant & need to evict them however they appear to be professional tenants. They continue to make cash counter deposits of partial rent payment to my checking account. I posted 3 day notice which expired Monday amt $2,135.00. Last night again I discovered a partial rent payment of $850.00 in my account. In addition to the 2 months rent they owe they as of today owe $800 in past due late fees. What can I do?

 

[jacksgal]

This site http://www.800helpfla.com/landlord_text.html should guide to answers. However if rent is not being paid in full and on time they are in breach or lease. This gives you right to evict. If your concerned about the partial payments then do not accept partial payments. Somehow I doubt accepting partial payments prevents you from legal action

 

[army judge]

OP, read the information available on these links:

http://evict.com/?page=evictqa

http://www.streetdirectory.com/trav...to_navigate_the_florida_eviction_process.html

http://www.rhol.com/csu/evictions/Florida/FloridaSteps.htm

http://accessevictions.com/landlord...-attorney-directory/florida-eviction-process/


You might wish to returning to Florida to see this process to conclusion.

You could ask a friend or relative to oversee this eviction for you, as your agent.

That would require you giving that person a limited power of attorney to act on your behalf in this matter only!!!









You could alternatively hire an attorney to drive the eviction on your behalf.

There are limits to what another person can do on your behalf regarding an eviction in the State of Florida.

I outline them below!

Do you need an attorney to file the eviction?

The eviction is a lawsuit. It can be filed by an attorney or must be filed by the individual landlord who will then represent himself in court.

A property manager can file some evictions.

The property manager can file an eviction based on nonpayment of rent, provided the lawsuit does not seek a money judgment and provided that there is something in writing showing that the property manager has the owner's permission to file the eviction.

The property manager is only entitled to file the eviction and then submit paperwork for a default judgment to be entered.

The property manager cannot act as the "lawyer" at a hearing or file any other papers.

If the landlord wishes to file his own eviction, the clerk of court may have forms available for a small fee.

There are advantages to having an attorney handle the eviction.

The attorney is familiar with the eviction process and can handle the filing of the required papers.

Partial Payments​

Most commonly, the partial rent payment tender is due to a financial hardship the tenant is suffering. The tenant feels that by paying some rent to the landlord, the landlord will be appeased enough to hold off on filing an eviction action. This partial payment may or may not be accompanied by an explanation and a promise to pay the rest of the money at a future set date. Is it legal to accept a partial payment? Absolutely. Can you simply accept the partial payment and then give the tenant a Three Day Notice for nonpayment of the balance? Yes, in most counties. The more important question is whether you should accept a partial payment due to other ramifications with the potential to cause future legal problems.

The "lone" partial payment ​

There are usually two types of partial payments given in the financial hardship setting. One is the payment accompanied by a letter promising the rest of the money at a later fixed date, and the other is what we call the "lone" partial payment, which is simply the check or money order in the envelope for less than the full amount of rent. If you accept the lone partial payment, you can and should serve the tenant with a Three Day Notice for the balance of the rent in most counties. If the balance is not received by the expiration date, you can then file an eviction against the tenant.

The partial payment and "letter"​

If the partial payment is tendered to you and is accompanied by a letter in which the tenant states when the next payment will be made to you on the balance, it is a bit more risky to accept the payment. While no real contract between you and the tenant is created by such a letter or promise to pay, an inference can be made that by accepting the partial payment, you are accepting it under the terms laid out by the tenant. In other words, by taking the money, you have agreed to the payment arrangements. Unless you are agreeing to the proposed payment arrangement, we do not recommend accepting the partial payment by the tenant in this situation.

The law and the partial payment​

Florida law does not address the legal ramifications of accepting a partial payment and then giving a Three Day Notice to the tenant and filing an eviction. Most Florida judges have no problem whatsoever with you accepting a partial, serving the notice and proceeding as usual. Some, and fortunately very few, judges feel that by accepting a partial payment form the tenant, you waive your right to file an eviction in the month that the payment was made. Always check with your attorney to see if the judge or judges in your county have this view on partial payments. You would not want to be in a position where accepting a partial payment could result in tying your hands for the rest of the month.

The Waiver issue​

One of the big issues in Florida law is the "waiver issue". Simply put, this means that by engaging in a course of action contrary to the terms of your lease, you have created a new payment method, and that you have possibly waived your rights to enforce the lease as it is written. Your course of conduct in allowing partial payments may be used by the tenant to show that since partial payments were made a few times, this has now become a permissible way to make payment, and you as the landlord are "stuck" with is. The waiver argument can be compelling in court, and judges are often unsympathetic to the landlord who does not enforce the lease terms on multiple occasions and then suddenly decides that partial payments will not be accepted. The landlord may have "waived their rights" and are then "estopped" from enforcing the lease terms. Many leases have clauses which clearly provide that the landlord's deviation from the lease terms will not create a waiver, but these clauses can become meaningless if the tenant can show that the landlord has a pattern of not enforcing the lease.

Should you accept partial payments at all?​

In a financial hardship situation, this is purely a business decision. Refuse them, and possibly you will get nothing, the tenant will skip out on you, or you will have to evict. Accept them, and live with the consequences.

The "Non-financial Hardship" partial rent payment​

While non-financial hardship partial rent payments are often financial hardship cases in disguise, there are many times when a tenant feels that for some reason he should not have to pay the full amount of rent. There may be completely legitimate reasons, and the reasons can be many. The tenant has a huge water bill and feels that there is a leak. The a/c has been out for days. The electric bill is excessive, possibly due to an a/c problem. A toilet is broken. A stove is broken. The list can be endless.

http://mlsanswers.tampabayrealtor.com/articles/2010/04/14/partial-rent-acceptance

 

[mightymoose]

Without the signed lease they are month to month tenants. Proceed accordingly.