Landlord assaults Tenant

[mvduvall]

Okay, this is one for the books. I live in florida. A friend of mine had their landlord come to their house while drunk and called him outside. The landlord had a gun and my friend punched the landlord in the face and took the gun. The police were called of course, the drunken landlord wanted to press charges and the tenant really didn't want to. The next day or so, my friend receives a 3-day eviction. They have paid their rent with no problems and even helped the landlord pay his property taxes. I feel this is just in retaliation of the landlord's ego being bruised....besides his eye. Can he legally evict them for this? Also my friend is handicapped and owns the mobile home and horses on the property, could they get an extention from the court?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

What type of lease (if any) does your friend have with this landlord. A yearly lease? A month to month lease? No written lease?

Gail

 

[mvduvall]

No written lease. Its all verbal.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Here is your friends problem...

In the absence of a written lease (which will specify the length of the contract), a tenant is considered to have a "tenancy at will". How long this tenancy is depends on how frequently the tenant pays the rent; if monthly this is a month to month lease (it begins on the first day of the month and ends on the last day), if twice a month, a 15 day lease, if rent is paid weekly, a weekly lease.

In Florida a month to month lease can be terminated with at least a 15 day notice prior to the end of the month by either party. No reason for terminating the lease need be provided. Even someone who has been paying their rent but is under this type of leasing situation can be told to move with such little notice.

Such lease arrangements while flexible for some tenants (who wish to end a lease without the fear of financial penalties) offer little protection if the landlord up and decides he wants them out.

If your friend does not respond to this demand from the landlord, the next step would be for the landlord to go to court and file for an actual eviction. His landlord cannot actually evict him WITHOUT the court granting him the ability to do so. While courts tend to agree to the eviction for tenants who do not have leases, your friend would be able to request that he be given more time to find another place to live given the fact that he has a mobile home and horses to move.

Gail