Monday, October 5, 2020

So sue me

The state of Florida has prohibited landlords from evicting tenants since March. For six months, landlords have had no way to collect rent from tenants who are simply not paying. The courts in Florida have refused to process, and Florida Sheriff's have refused to serve papers for evictions. This leaves landlords with no mechanism to get paid. 

Sure, the state (and now CDC) eviction moratorium says that tenants must still pay, but with evictions prohibited, property owners are left with no practical way to collect rent from recalcitrant tenants. 

So one property owner in Tampa did what they had to do- they simply changed the locks and then sold the apartments to a developer. Now the tenants must sue the landlord. Of course, none of them will be able to afford to do so, and even if some charity organization comes forward to assist them, any court date will likely come long after the buildings have been demolished. 

This is the only way out for the property owners- you cannot expect them to continue to maintain, pay taxes on, and manage this property while simultaneously being denied the ability to collect rent. So now the people in this area are going to have to find other places to live. 

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