The Successful Landlord Blog

After close to a year of paying her rent late. Every. Single. Month. I had to effectively read a tenant the “riot act” and told her in no uncertain terms that I would be terminating her lease. I let her know that we could do this the hard way or the easy way. The easy way being that she could pay what she owes and vacate the premises, leaving them in good condition, or the hard way being that I could file for eviction and get her kicked out by the county Sheriff. Since she did not send a rent payment I assumed she wanted to do it the hard way. Why am I not surprised?

Yesterday, I posted an inspection notice which is a requirement, under Florida law, before I can enter the premises without her permission. The law states that I must post this notice 12 hours in advance of the inspection. I wanted to inspect to make sure that she was at least preparing to move.

This morning, bright and early, I received a voicemail from the tenant adamantly advising me that I DID NOT have her permission to enter the premises because the place was a mess and there were boxes everywhere. Now, at this point, I should mention that this tenant in the past has called me to complain about various minutia, beginning her sentence with, “I know you have your little laws, but you can’t blah blah blah….” I hate to tell her this but, these “little laws” she’s referring to are Florida State Statutes and they are enforceable by the courts and police. Um. Yes. Yes I can blah blah blah…

I called her back to let her know that, by law, I am allowed to inspect the premises after posting a notice to that effect, and will do so under police escort if necessary. It just amazes me that some tenants are completely ignorant of the fact that they signed a contract which is bound by the State of Florida and yes, there are laws which define the landlord-tenant relationship.

Another reason this tenant is having her lease terminated is that, pretty much, every time I speak with her, for any reason, it usually ends with her raising her voice to me. How somebody this argumentative gets through life successfully is completely beyond me. This is also probably why she constantly behaves like she’s so hard done by in life and nothing ever goes her way. Someone should explain to her the old adage, “Your attitude determines your altitude.”