State Specific Question About: FLORIDA (FL)

Hi, everyone help me on this one .i had a tenant last year his lease was up o august 30 th 2015 .i asked him in july 30 day before that is he planning to renew the lease or going to move after the lease is up . first he said he will move i said ok i will have to advertise the home for next tenant like it said on the lease. then he asked me if he can stay month to month unless he finds something but promised to stay at least till october .well i had no problem since he paid the rent on time .then just a week ago he said he is moving .i told him that even you are going to be on month to month you still have to give me 30 day notice .he said that his lease is up and he doesn't have to give me any notice .all this we talk via text .

now he demands his full deposit .he left the house in good shape but some touchup paint and normal cleaning .

what should i do?

Lesson learned: no more "I said, he said, I texted, he texted..." There's a reason why lawyers say, "If it isn't in writing, it NEVER happened."

Texts MIGHT be admissible in court, but I doubt that's the issue here. The issue is what does your state law say regarding month to month tenancies, what does your lease say regarding month to month extensions, and how will your local judge rule on the law vs. your lease?

In Greene County, Missouri where I live and invest, a month to month lease requires 30 days notice. Furthermore, my lease specifies that 30 days notice must be received on or before the 1st day of the month in which the tenant intends to vacate. Finally, I know my judges will enforce that because they have done so in the past and my very successful attorney who has been in the land lord/tenant biz for 30 years reviewed my lease and said it's golden. So if a M2M tenant wants out by the end of Sept, today is too late. They owe for all of October as well.

The bottom line here is you need to know YOUR state laws and YOUR judge. No one here know both of those things, nor have we seen your lease, so time to either do some research or invest in an attorney who does know.

My non-profession, non-guaranteed, arm-chair lawyer opinion is that he owes a full month's rent for not giving proper notice, he owes for cleaning, and he owes for touch up if beyond normal wear and tear. A few scuffs on the wall are to be expected. Holes in walls due to nails or punches? Damage, he pays up.

If you rely on my advice...be prepared in case he decides to fight you in court. I have been a LL for 10 years, and disgruntled tenants have threatened to sue me several times. They have NEVER followed thru. It costs around $250 just to talk to an attorney to see if they have a case, so if the amount withheld is less than that, it's not worth it for them.

Upon expiration of a fixed-term lease, no additional notice is required.

Both parties had notice when they signed the lease of the date of expiration and the termination of the agreement.

Thanks sid i was just reading the fl state laws over the internet ,and it states that on a yearly lease 60 day notice is required .and my lease stats 30 day notice is must to give .and the deposit i have is $875.00

i am wondering is that possiable for you to share the lease with me . i have notice from several old posts you have really good points. i can give you my email address if its ok.

Vee ,i never had to go to court for keeping the security deposit other then eviction and in that case i keep the deposit anyway .

Refresh his memory:

Show him the text where he said "in writing" that he "promised to stay at least till october"

I only had to give a month to month tenant 15 days notice to vacate, under Florida law. (I gave her 30 days)

15 days notice prior to the end of any one month period. That's the notice you have to give him under florida law. Meaning you have to give him notice by 15 September that September will be his last month.