Kicked out/ lost all belongings without eviction

[Sierraidalia0830]

Jurisdiction

Florida

So the property we were renting without a written lease agreement just a verbal agreement got sold to somebody we knew and that person had told us that we could continue renting from them that way we didn't have to move because we had a baby and a lot of stuff to move with no vehicle and suddenly after buying the property they tell us we have to get our stuff and get out they did not give us any eviction notice so within a couple days time we had to borrow a friend's vehicle to move some of our belongings, then one day the person that bought the property came and stood outside of our gate trying to rush us moving our stuff when the person's vehicle we were borrowing had to be back by dark so when we moved our stuff they wouldn't allow us to come back and get the rest of our stuff which includes all of our baby stuff clothes toys everything and a bunch of our stuff furniture clothes everything we had to leave everything we owned pretty much. Would I have a chance at winning if I take this to small claims court because we don't have much money and are going through a pretty tough time right now so we can't really waste any money trying to go to court if we will lose or how should I go about this what should I do? It's been about a week
Also if I do take this to small claims court what all would I need to prove that the items I have on this list we owned since we didn't have receipts

 

[zddoodah]

"So the property we were renting without a written lease agreement just a verbal agreement got sold to somebody we knew and that person had told us that we could continue renting from them that way we didn't have to move because we had a baby and a lot of stuff to move with no vehicle and suddenly after buying the property they tell us we have to get our stuff and get out they did not give us any eviction notice so within a couple days time we had to borrow a friend's vehicle to move some of our belongings, then one day the person that bought the property came and stood outside of our gate trying to rush us moving our stuff when the person's vehicle we were borrowing had to be back by dark so when we moved our stuff they wouldn't allow us to come back and get the rest of our stuff which includes all of our baby stuff clothes toys everything and a bunch of our stuff furniture clothes everything we had to leave everything we owned pretty much."

I'm going to try and translate this run on sentence into something more intelligible:

We rented a residential property without a written lease agreement. On or about ____, the owner sold the property. On or about ____, the new owner told us that we could continue living in the property. Then, on or about ____, the new owner changed his mind and demanded that we move out immediately. On ____, after we moved a load of our possessions, the new owner locked us out and prevented us from retrieving our remaining possessions (the approximate replacement value of which is $____).

Please confirm that this is accurate and fill in the blanks.

Please also explain what efforts you have made to contact the new owner and arrange for the retrieval of your possessions. Also, why didn't you call the police when the landlord prevented you from accessing the home?

Would I have a chance at winning if I take this to small claims court

It seems to me that you have a reasonably strong case for wrongful eviction. I have no idea whether or not that can be handled in small claims court. I think you ought to see if you can get a free consultation with a local attorney.

 

[army judge]

Would I have a chance at winning if I take this to small claims court because we don't have much money and are going through a pretty tough time right now so we can't really waste any money trying to go to court if we will lose or how should I go about this what should I do? It's been about a week
Also if I do take this to small claims court what all would I need to prove that the items I have on this list we owned since we didn't have receipts

Here are several FREE legal aid services/organizations that MIGHT be able to assist you.

Check them out, visit them see if they can help you with your legal problems.

They normally assist people with limited or no finances.

It can't hurt to see if one of them can help you and your family.

Belleview Legal Aid & Pro Bono Services - Justia Florida Lawyer Directory

Compare and research legal aid and pro bono legal service organizations in Belleview, Florida on Justia

www.justia.com

Belleview, FL Free Lawyers

We provide local community,free and/or low cost lawyers, legal clinics, etc, that we have located in Belleview, FL.

www.freelawyers.us

https://www.trls.org/

https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/belleview/category/legal-services

Community Legal Services - no-cost legal services

 

[Michael Wechsler]

So the property we were renting without a written lease agreement just a verbal agreement got sold to somebody we knew and that person had told us that we could continue renting from them that way we didn't have to move because we had a baby and a lot of stuff to move with no vehicle and suddenly after buying the property they tell us we have to get our stuff and get out they did not give us any eviction notice so within a couple days time we had to borrow a friend's vehicle to move some of our belongings, then one day the person that bought the property came and stood outside of our gate trying to rush us moving our stuff when the person's vehicle we were borrowing had to be back by dark so when we moved our stuff they wouldn't allow us to come back and get the rest of our stuff which includes all of our baby stuff clothes toys everything and a bunch of our stuff furniture clothes everything we had to leave everything we owned pretty much. Would I have a chance at winning if I take this to small claims court because we don't have much money and are going through a pretty tough time right now so we can't really waste any money trying to go to court if we will lose or how should I go about this what should I do? It's been about a week

Very sorry to hear about your significant life and financial challenges. We don't know the specific details, which are important. Some thoughts:

1) No eviction notice was necessary if you paid rent and fulfilled your obligations of the lease. If they allowed you to rent orally month to month, then what was required was for them was to give you proper notice of non-renewal of your lease agreement, also known as a termination notice. It appears that a 15 day prior written notice was required. If it was not provided to you, then it would appear you may have a case for wrongful eviction.

Information about Florida Landlord-Tenant relationships can be found here.

Florida statutes relating to leases and termination can be found in Florida Statute § 83.46 - Rent; duration of tenancies and Florida Statute § 83.57 - Termination of tenancy without specific term.

2) You may be best served sending a demand letter to the party that evicted you stating the amount and reasons for your request or demand for reimbursement, along with a time period to make payment. In addition to the possibility that they may pay you rather than going to court, some courts also want to see that an actual demand was made and that a bona fide dispute exists. Send via a certified method that can be shown in court, e.g. email (and you may or may not get a response), letter sent proof of mailing, etc.

Good luck to you.