AAGO LEGAL
WHY A SELF HELP EVICTION IS NEVER A GOOD THING EVEN IF THE COURTHOUSE IS “FROZEN” A lot of Florida landlords (and everywhere else for that matter) are very frustrated that the courthouse appears “frozen” for nonpayment evictions. There’s certainly a fear with the rise in Covid Delta variant cases that the courthouses will become even more locked down to nonpayment evictions than with the original Covid restrictions..
Coupled with the number of tenants who have racked up a large amount of unpaid rent, there’s a certain landlord mentality that maybe self help eviction is an “option to the courthouse.” It’s not. The recent case of Powers v Whitcraft 2021 WL 3084907 (Fla. 4th DCA July 21, 2021) makes this abundantly clear. We’ll consider the Powers case and learn from its cautionary tale. THE POWERS FACTS: Powers placed an ad on Craigslist seeking to rent a room for her and her teenage daughter. Whitcraft responded to the ad and advised that Powers and her daughter could stay with him in a house that he was renting for $600/month and ½ of the utilities. After moving in, Powers accused Whitcraft of acting inappropriately to Powers’ daughter. Powers contacted the police and the police came to the home to investigate. Whitcraft requested that the police remove Powers and her daughter from the home which the police declined. Whitcraft then elected to leave the rented home himself. After Whitcraft left, Powers woke a few days later to the electricity and water being shutoff and locks being placed on their boxes by Whitcraft. Powers called the police and she and a neighbor cut the locks in the police officer’s presence. A few days later, Powers came home and discovered the electricity was not work, that the landlord had entered the home and left the refrigerator door open. This spoiled Powers’ food and “soured” her on living in the home. The very next day Powers discovered that the water wasn’t working. THE POWERS SUIT: Powers had enough of Whitcraft’s actions and filed suit against Whitcraft pursuant to Section
83.67(1), Florida Statutes, which provides that: a residential landlord “shall not cause, directly or indirectly, the termination or interruption of any utility service furnished the tenant, including, but not limited to, water ... electricity ... or refrigeration, whether or not the utility service is under the control of, or payment is made by, the landlord”). Powers claimed that Whitcraft violated her rights 5 different ways which would amount to a recovery of $9k (3 months of $600/month rent x 5 violations). THE POWERS LAWSUIT TAKES A TWIST: The trial court determined that Powers didn’t prove that a landlord tenant relationship existed between her and Whitcraft and ruled in Whitcraft’s favor! POWERS COUNTER PUNCHES WITH AN APPEAL: Not satisfied with the trial court’s ruling in Whitcraft’s favor, Powers appealed the decision to a higher court (i.e., the District Court of Appeal). DCA DETERMINES THAT POWERS IS WHAT SHE CLAIMS TO BE: The DCA sided with Powers that she had a landlord tenant relationship with Whitcraft, was therefor a tenant and was entitled to seek recovery under Section 83.67. The DCA returned/remanded the case to the trial court to determine if Powers proved the landlord violated Section 83.67 and to determine the amount of damages to be awarded if Powers prevailed. MORAL OF THE STORY: A self help eviction creates an avenue of financial recovery for a tenant who may have not paid rent for several months. It hardly seems worth it. Even if the courthouse doors appear “frozen”, better to wait to evict than to indirectly or directly force the tenant to vacate.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
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