Sumter County Small Claims Court - Experience / Comments

[DALEPQ]

We are seasonal and have rented out a house in TV on a signed 1 yr. rental agreement.
The renters unexpectedly breached the agreement and moved out, leaving a net
amount of unpaid rent due of $1000.+, which is left after using the Security Deposit.
We are now back in TV and have found where they re-located to in TV.
Have contacted them to pay what is owed on the unpaid rent, they are refusing to pay.
Looks like my only recourse is to file a suit in Sumter County Small Claims Court.
I did check on-line and looks like I can self-represent. The cost to file looks to be $195.,
which I think I can also add to the claim.
I don't know what they could possibly have as a defense, as they flat out breached the
rental agreement. They had been there for nearly 7 months prior to leaving, and we had no prior issues of any kind with them during that time.
Has anybody filed in Sumter County Small Claims Court? Having comments to share?
Thanks in advance.

[villagetinker]

You could try seniors against crime, no cost, and they might have other suggestions for recourse.

[Babubhat]

It’s a contractual dispute. You had an obligation to try to mitigate the damages by re renting it. Will factor into your claim. The dollars involved are probably not worth the aggravation

[url=https://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/landlord---tenant-landlords-duty-to-mitigate-damages]

[Bjeanj]

It’s a contractual dispute. You had an obligation to try to mitigate the damages by re renting it. Will factor into your claim. The dollars involved are probably not worth the aggravation

[url=https://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/landlord---tenant-landlords-duty-to-mitigate-damages]

I disagree for two reasons. $1,000 is a fair amount for most people to lose, and not doing anything, I would think, just encourages the renters to do it again. It’s entirely possible the OP has tried unsuccessfully to re-rent.

[Babubhat]

Depends what your time is worth. Even if you win, still have to collect.

[DALEPQ]

We did re-rent but it took a month to do so. They owe for the month not rented.
They also left a few items in the house for the month owed which were donated.

[dhsmith]

We filed in court against a contractor in Citrus County went to court had a trial and won the case for the amount of the suit plus awarded all costs. You will have more than the $195 in costs we had almost $400 before it was all said and done, plus 3 appearances in court.Bottom line the person we sued had no assets in his name and never collected one red cent.If I had it to do over I would have saved my money and all the bull sh—.

[EdFNJ]

Depends what your time is worth. Even if you win, still have to collect. This is true but the "defendant" will have a unsatisfied judgement so the OP could (if he wants just to get even) hire a collection agency to try and collect the debt. The collection agency would likely report the unpaid debt to credit agency which will kill the renters credit score. While the OP will likely get little cash IF the collection succeeds at least he can get an ounce of satisfaction knowing he ruined the renters credit rating. :highfive: Just maybe the THREAT of collections will force him to pay. There is a website where for a few bucks you can have a "lawyer letter" sent with the threat of collections.

OR, contact Judge Judy or Peoples Court and you'll both make a few bucks if they take the case. :)

All depends on what one's time is worth and/or what an ounce of revenge is worth.

Or he can just forget the whole thing and just suck it up.

[Stu from NYC]

I would sue if nothing else would make me feel a bit better.

Or hire Guido for the collection.

[keepsake]

In renting I consider the potential tenants history. If they are on disability RED FLAG. A court cannot attach any disability $$$.

[Topspinmo]

I would hire Leonard Smalls to collect.:boom::faint:

If you don’t know who the famed character is Google. “raising Arizona”

[bagboy]

We did re-rent but it took a month to do so. They owe for the month not rented.
They also left a few items in the house for the month owed which were donated.

and in court, they can say you promised to hold onto their property (worth thousands), but you took advantage of them and sold it all....etc etc. If it were me, I'd cut my losses. But, you need to do what you think best. Good luck.

[RVJim]

In renting I consider the potential tenants history. If they are on disability RED FLAG. A court cannot attach any disability $$$.
You are playing with fire there. While source of income is a not a protected class in and of itself, refusing to rent to someone because they receive disability income could be construed as indirect discrimination. Attorneys regularly mine social media for posts like yours in the discovery phase of litigation. Pretty dumb position for you take and even dumber to post it publically.

[DALEPQ]

They are not on disability for sure. They are operating a business from the rental house.
They also had TD bank file in S.C. court in Dec. 2021, which they paid.
Found that as public info.
I am going to go after them, on the principal of it, "Don't screw with me" how's that!!!

[jparsoneau@aol.com]

So like a lot of people says depends on if your time is worth it. And yes also depends on what your rental contract says. If you don’t have A contract. Then it is a he says he says. If you have a rental contract it will depend on what your contract says. And if you do go to court and you do win, yes you still have to collect but you automatically know where they bank so that should be easy if they still have a bank account there with money in it. As far as people on disability not paying rent that is bull**** just because they are on disability they still have to pay rent and you can still sue them. But you cannot garnish a disability or any federal check.
And unfortunately I learned a long time ago fighting the good fight is expensive. And so is winning at all cost. Some things are a lot better off, to walk away from and some are worth fighting for. Choose your battles wisely. Your money comes and goes, time does not it only goes.
Either way, you should at least let the new landlord know what they did to you so if they can be prepared. Unless they quit renting about a house. Then you can put a lien on their house. Lol

[JTLoehnert]

Better Call Saul

[Luggage]

I had that happen in New Jersey and I figured that if they really needed the money, then that's part of my charity. But I can tell you that even if you get judgment, and you can hire the sheriff to collect usually and they get a percentage and you have to pretty well know where the bank is and get a claim against them.

[msilagy]

I have had this issue back in Illinois with 2 renters over the years. Small claims court may rule in your favor which is good however then you have to collect. If they are working garnishment of wages or possible pension or SS but this all costs money. So in both instances I chose after a lot of research and advice from a lawyer not to pursue it. One renter owed me $1400 and the other did damage to the home that cost over $1500 and they lived out their security, In the end after all the fees it may not be worth it. Sorry this happened to you.

[crash]

I disagree for two reasons. $1,000 is a fair amount for most people to lose, and not doing anything, I would think, just encourages the renters to do it again. It’s entirely possible the OP has tried unsuccessfully to re-rent.

No one has a problem renting in season in the Villages. While filing in small claims I would put it on a rental site like vrb*

[mpcolonel]

In renting I consider the potential tenants history. If they are on disability RED FLAG. A court cannot attach any disability $$$.

It is illegal to discriminate against disabled persons. You may end up on the receiving end of a lawsuit.

[rsmurano]

Of course you should sue them. The money wouldn’t matter to me it’s the principal. People can’t think it’s ok to screw people out of money. If a red flag is shown to a future landlord then they might have to pay more for the next rental or be refused. I would also call a collector on them so they have a red flag on their credit report for not paying rent

[DeeCee Dubya]

Full Marks

[Travelhunter123]

We did re-rent but it took a month to do so. They owe for the month not rented.
They also left a few items in the house for the month owed which were donated.
Add any cleaning, damage, transportation, advertising costs, to your suit

[merrymini]

Good luck. Costs money and time and you may not collect a cent. People like this know the system and work it. Courts usually side with tenants with the attitude that the owner is better off then the tenants that rent from them. Do not call their present landlord or you might be hit with a law suit indicating slander.

[FredJacobs]

Small Claims Court is made for these types of disputes. You do not need a lawyer, you can present your case by yourself - just like the "courts" that you see on TV - i.e. Judge Judy. If the defendant does not appear, an automatic judgement is awarded to you. Your problem will be in collecting the judgement. If the defendant refuses to pay, you can have a lien placed on their property. Because they are renters, it would appear that the only asset you could attach would be their car. If you do that, they will be unable to trade it in or sell it until the lien is satisfied.

[Michigan Farmer]

First day a small claims you wait to be called, acknowledge or deny the claim, go to arbitration that same day. If the two sides cant agree, back to the court room and have a trial date set. If you win at trial collecting is difficult. First you write a demand letter for your money, if you dont get paid you file a judgment lien, and then have the lien foreclosed on. The property foreclosed on is then auctioned and you get paid. All of this is at your expense but your expenses will be covered by the auction proceeds. I was lucky in that I was suing a business which opens up a great many of assets to lien on. Personal property is very limited.

At least that's how I remember it.

[maggie1]

We are seasonal and have rented out a house in TV on a signed 1 yr. rental agreement.
The renters unexpectedly breached the agreement and moved out, leaving a net
amount of unpaid rent due of $1000.+, which is left after using the Security Deposit.
We are now back in TV and have found where they re-located to in TV.
Have contacted them to pay what is owed on the unpaid rent, they are refusing to pay.
Looks like my only recourse is to file a suit in Sumter County Small Claims Court.
I did check on-line and looks like I can self-represent. The cost to file looks to be $195.,
which I think I can also add to the claim.
I don't know what they could possibly have as a defense, as they flat out breached the
rental agreement. They had been there for nearly 7 months prior to leaving, and we had no prior issues of any kind with them during that time.
Has anybody filed in Sumter County Small Claims Court? Having comments to share?
Thanks in advance.

I don't know if this would work, but it's my understanding that Florida has some pretty stringent laws against defrauding another if the fraud is by a check. Let's say you plan on renting the house in the future, and the rental period is for three months, would it be worthwhile to have the renter write three separate checks one for each month they plan to be there, which you would then hold and only cash when each month is up? If the person wanted to skip out on the contract and tried stopping payment of the check, then I would think this to be an act of fraud and subject to the filing of criminal charges. This might be something to run past an attorney or the county/city law director. It's just something to think about.

[Bay Kid]

If they bought a home put a lien on their property. Courts seem to be for the poor tenant.

[RayAmb]

I took a plant nursery to small claims court. They were able to pay and did. It cost about $500 to do it. My claim was north of $3000. WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?

If the amount was worth the risks of counter suit, the chances of a 100% win ( not 40%) were likely, they had the ability to pay and were willing to do so. I had plenty of time and wanted it on my mind for a long time. And I couldn’t write it off. Not to mention the family disruption.

PRINCIPAL, YEAH let me know how that works out for you!

BTW, I wouldn’t count on our State attorney to process anything if you ever got a court order due to non payment.

[JerseyGurl]

You had a contract. File in small claims court. The person I sold my NJ home to in May 2020 received my 2017 (state is 3 years behind) $1000 homestead rebate in May 2021. My closing attorney is charging me $150 plus $50 fees. Good luck. It’s our hard earned $$$.

[Petersweeney]

If you sue they are going to make something up like there was no hot water for a month or there were ants…. Your lucky they didn’t wreck the place…. Move on….

[MrFlorida]

So, you re- rented it and only lost a few hundred? It's not worth the aggravation, and time.

[retiredguy123]

I don't know if this would work, but it's my understanding that Florida has some pretty stringent laws against defrauding another if the fraud is by a check. Let's say you plan on renting the house in the future, and the rental period is for three months, would it be worthwhile to have the renter write three separate checks one for each month they plan to be there, which you would then hold and only cash when each month is up? If the person wanted to skip out on the contract and tried stopping payment of the check, then I would think this to be an act of fraud and subject to the filing of criminal charges. This might be something to run past an attorney or the county/city law director. It's just something to think about.
That is not the way it works. Normally, writing a bad check is a crime that can be prosecuted. But, if you write a check, and the payee agrees to hold the check until a future time, that is a totally different situation. It is a loan, not a bad check. So, if the check bounces, it is not a crime. It is default on a loan. It becomes a civil matter. And, it doesn't matter what date is put on the check. So, you need to be careful not to accuse someone of a bad check crime, if you agreed to hold the check.

[irishwonone]

We are seasonal and have rented out a house in TV on a signed 1 yr. rental agreement.
The renters unexpectedly breached the agreement and moved out, leaving a net
amount of unpaid rent due of $1000.+, which is left after using the Security Deposit.
We are now back in TV and have found where they re-located to in TV.
Have contacted them to pay what is owed on the unpaid rent, they are refusing to pay.
Looks like my only recourse is to file a suit in Sumter County Small Claims Court.
I did check on-line and looks like I can self-represent. The cost to file looks to be $195.,
which I think I can also add to the claim.
I don't know what they could possibly have as a defense, as they flat out breached the
rental agreement. They had been there for nearly 7 months prior to leaving, and we had no prior issues of any kind with them during that time.
Has anybody filed in Sumter County Small Claims Court? Having comments to share?
Thanks in advance.
Getting a judgement and actually collecting is very difficult in Florida.

[DaisyDE]

I would take them to small claims court. Both parties signed an agreement for a reason. Glad you did your due diligence and re-rented asap. If you file, they may send you payment just to avoid court. I assume they rented another place in TV? If so, I'm curious to know why.
On another note, there is a Facebook page with over 1000 other TV landlords you can pose your question to. We share in, network and share leads. Landlords of The Villages. There is another FB page for landlords and renters. Home rentals in the villages fl. Best wishes!

[Ritagoyer]

You could contact the owner of the place they ar renting and give them a heads up on what they did to you. You may not get your money back but you maybe able to stop them from doing it again.

[JP]

I've owned and rented several houses/properties over the years and it was always somewhat of a problem. The best thing I did was have a realtor rent and manage them for me. Of course this basically took away most of the profits of renting but I did recover substantially when I sold the properties. It sounds to me like these people know how to scam the system. I'd cut my loses and feel I got out pretty easy and cheaply if I was you. Maybe consider having someone manage the property for you in the future although it really is financially not a great decision. Best solution: SELL at the crazy high prices that houses have in todays market.

[oneclickplus]

We are seasonal and have rented out a house in TV on a signed 1 yr. rental agreement.
The renters unexpectedly breached the agreement and moved out, leaving a net
amount of unpaid rent due of $1000.+, which is left after using the Security Deposit.
We are now back in TV and have found where they re-located to in TV.
Have contacted them to pay what is owed on the unpaid rent, they are refusing to pay.
Looks like my only recourse is to file a suit in Sumter County Small Claims Court.
I did check on-line and looks like I can self-represent. The cost to file looks to be $195.,
which I think I can also add to the claim.
I don't know what they could possibly have as a defense, as they flat out breached the
rental agreement. They had been there for nearly 7 months prior to leaving, and we had no prior issues of any kind with them during that time.
Has anybody filed in Sumter County Small Claims Court? Having comments to share?
Thanks in advance.

Did they buy or rent in TV? If rent, consider informing their new landlord of their character.

[joelfmi]

We are seasonal and have rented out a house in TV on a signed 1 yr. rental agreement.
The renters unexpectedly breached the agreement and moved out, leaving a net
amount of unpaid rent due of $1000.+, which is left after using the Security Deposit.
We are now back in TV and have found where they re-located to in TV.
Have contacted them to pay what is owed on the unpaid rent, they are refusing to pay.
Looks like my only recourse is to file a suit in Sumter County Small Claims Court.
I did check on-line and looks like I can self-represent. The cost to file looks to be $195.,
which I think I can also add to the claim.
I don't know what they could possibly have as a defense, as they flat out breached the
rental agreement. They had been there for nearly 7 months prior to leaving, and we had no prior issues of any kind with them during that time.
Has anybody filed in Sumter County Small Claims Court? Having comments to share?
Thanks in advance.

Thans for the transparency This is one of the reasons I will not buy into any 55-community home that allows renter.

[Babubhat]

Your best hope is they no show and get a default judgement. Then the Sheriff goes to collect. Not guaranteed to collect

[Babubhat]

Did they buy or rent in TV? If rent, consider informing their new landlord of their character.

Why would you invite a lawsuit for doing so? Has no impact on plaintiff. Just opening a can of worms

[DAVES]

It’s a contractual dispute. You had an obligation to try to mitigate the damages by re renting it. Will factor into your claim. The dollars involved are probably not worth the aggravation

[url=https://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/landlord---tenant-landlords-duty-to-mitigate-damages]

Dollars not worth the aggravation. Perhaps, a more mature, common belief. Perhaps, because i grew up in a tough poor neighborhood. My view it is your duty to make them regret their action. Assuming the original post is true. They have committed THIEFT.
On top of that the same people are now renting elsewhere. As usual, we only hear one side of the story. Right, wrong and legal are not always the same thing.

[DAVES]

We are seasonal and have rented out a house in TV on a signed 1 yr. rental agreement.
The renters unexpectedly breached the agreement and moved out, leaving a net
amount of unpaid rent due of $1000.+, which is left after using the Security Deposit.
We are now back in TV and have found where they re-located to in TV.
Have contacted them to pay what is owed on the unpaid rent, they are refusing to pay.
Looks like my only recourse is to file a suit in Sumter County Small Claims Court.
I did check on-line and looks like I can self-represent. The cost to file looks to be $195.,
which I think I can also add to the claim.
I don't know what they could possibly have as a defense, as they flat out breached the
rental agreement. They had been there for nearly 7 months prior to leaving, and we had no prior issues of any kind with them during that time.
Has anybody filed in Sumter County Small Claims Court? Having comments to share?
Thanks in advance.

I've used small claims court twice in my life. It was in another state and frankly the fees were far lower than here if I recall it was like $18 to file. Both cases I was controlled angry. BOTH TIMES I WON AND I COLLECTED.

As I said it was not here. I would go to the court or wherever it is your file. I expect you will discover they are not allowed to advise you. However you can politely fish for information. Find someone to talk to. You will not get an official answer but I expect as far as collecting for the cost to file, I would put it into the case. You may of may not get it, it maybe normal policy if you win. If, it is not normal policy and you do not ask for it you may well not get it. I would and did sue for driving to the court , parking and meals, because I had to be at the court. I had it all documented.

Truth, it was almost FUN. When, I did it the judge, actually I think he is not a judge but is an attorney was on the side of the consumer a sort of people's court.

I sued and won against a huge organization. Their attorney was truly an incompetent person. She thought she could scare me, she thought a pile of paper would scare me
or perhaps she was paid by the word? They did not show up in small claims and pulled some maneuver to have it go to regular court. In regular court the judge decided she could pay me like a grand or go back to small claims. They chose to go back to small claims. It was like a hearing in a high school auditorium. To my surprise the judge from regular court adjusted his schedule to work in small claims. The incompetent atty tried some other baloney to get my case dismissed. To my shock the judge said to her, listen honey, we are not here to discuss the case. I had already ruled
We are here to discuss how much more than the original thousand ruling you are going to pay. Everyone including the court staff laughed when he said if you are wise you will just shut up. The judge gave me everything I asked for. I had a book on my desk.
It is a classic on small claims court. I was not far from the judge and the title of the book is hugely printed-surely he saw it. I well there is this book I bought. It was like he was looking to teach that atty her place. "Well your honor the title of the book is,"Sue the Bastards." The laugh from the riffraff alone was worth the effort.

My advice is same as the title of the book. YOU SHOULD READ THE BOOK. You should file quickly. I would expect they can claim they do not live in Florida so you will need to get a copy of their present agreement. IF, small claims tells you it will be months till they can hear your case, that may kill that option. You need to sue where the person you are suing lives. If, their current landlord is a villager, it is the perfect opportunity to meet them and make then aware of your problem. Immediately turning up the heat on this tenant. Are you speaking to these people? Registered return receipt letter is the way to go. I would send it BOTH to there home address and the florida address. I'm not an attorney but I know if they refuse to receive a registered return receipt letter it will come back to you. Should you go to small claims even though they refused the letter it is legally delivered AND THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE LETTER SAYS-your advantage.

[Vikingjunior]

Was that rental contract witnessed or signed in front of a notary. They can can just deny signing any contract. Burden of proof is on you to prove they actually signed a contract.

[vintageogauge]

They are not on disability for sure. They are operating a business from the rental house.
They also had TD bank file in S.C. court in Dec. 2021, which they paid.
Found that as public info.
I am going to go after them, on the principal of it, "Don't screw with me" how's that!!!

You can also complain to TV that they are running a business most of which are not allowed.

[valuemkt]

Developing a rental contract here in The Villages is much different than in many other parts of the country. There have been many well blogged cases of people entering into a long term agreement and having it breached right after high season.. the tenants paying the lower monthly rate through the high season then suddenly coming up with a lame reason of early termination. Thats why rent collection is done well ahead of move-in time, monthly payments are skewed to insure maximum rent through high season etc. In my fairly extensive rental experience, I've only been torched once, by a Canadian Couple - I got a judgment, but culd never figure out to get the RCMP execute the demand for collection or institute a lien. I have garnished wages, put liens on properties.. but these were few and far between, and all done without legal assistance. Should someone try and take advantage of me, I can assure you that someone's credit record would be destroyed and all means would be executed to collect what was mine and lien anything and everything in sight.

[GRACEALLEMAN]

We are seasonal and have rented out a house in TV on a signed 1 yr. rental agreement.
The renters unexpectedly breached the agreement and moved out, leaving a net
amount of unpaid rent due of $1000.+, which is left after using the Security Deposit.
We are now back in TV and have found where they re-located to in TV.
Have contacted them to pay what is owed on the unpaid rent, they are refusing to pay.
Looks like my only recourse is to file a suit in Sumter County Small Claims Court.
I did check on-line and looks like I can self-represent. The cost to file looks to be $195.,
which I think I can also add to the claim.
I don't know what they could possibly have as a defense, as they flat out breached the
rental agreement. They had been there for nearly 7 months prior to leaving, and we had no prior issues of any kind with them during that time.
Has anybody filed in Sumter County Small Claims Court? Having comments to share?
Thanks in advance.
Remember the law is always foe the tenants. Against landlords

[Vikingjunior]

They could always file bankruptcy. Then you get nothing.

[Bruce3055]

I once won a small claims in Ohio against a building contractor for shoddy work. But the ability to collect was futile.
And on the same claim, I struck out with the Better Business Bureau of which the contractor was a highly rated member of the BBB. It turns out, the BBB is paid by the business for their membership and the consumer doesn’t pay BBB. The business retained their A rating with BBB.
My efforts were educational for me.

[Toymeister]

Most replies posted so far are simply garbage.

I rented my home, I had a small claims case over RE in Sumter County. You know those lucrative Federal contracts? I wrote them, signed them, handled contract disputes for four decades. As you may of guessed I won my case in 2021.

If you file, you certainly will prevail as they won't appear. It's all done by video now. If they did happen to show up you would likely be referred to arbitration. Failing a satisfactory arbitrated agreement you will appear before the court again. Summarizing your case, presenting relevant support with your initial filing and following all court instructions with the utmost respect to the Judge is essential. Remember, your audience for your case is the Court, not the defendant.

They won't show because there is no effective, immediate, means to enforce it, meaning they are not forced to write you a check. As said by others you can sell (assign) the judgement to a collection agency for 25% or less of face value.

So is it worth it? Only the OP can decide.

[Velvet]

Why would you invite a lawsuit for doing so? Has no impact on plaintiff. Just opening a can of worms

I think it is very important to know who you are renting (trusting) your property with. If I was their new landlord I’d want to be warned.

[DAVES]

I have had this issue back in Illinois with 2 renters over the years. Small claims court may rule in your favor which is good however then you have to collect. If they are working garnishment of wages or possible pension or SS but this all costs money. So in both instances I chose after a lot of research and advice from a lawyer not to pursue it. One renter owed me $1400 and the other did damage to the home that cost over $1500 and they lived out their security, In the end after all the fees it may not be worth it. Sorry this happened to you.

Re: renters
That is the reason why I do not own any rental property. I see it as what it is THIEFT.
As far as small claims court and renting in the villages, I believe the law is you must sue where the party you are suing lives, not where you live. When you rent in the villages I expect if you use small claims to collect you will likely need to sue in another state.

Only 3,000 is not bad. We have friends who rent homes in NY. I recall hearing about some person who lived in their property for almost a year. When he finally was evicted, he owed them over 10,000 in back rent, he had damaged the property AND THEY HAD TO PAY HIS MOVING EXPENSES TO GET RID OF HIM.

[DAVES]

Of course you should sue them. The money wouldn’t matter to me it’s the principal. People can’t think it’s ok to screw people out of money. If a red flag is shown to a future landlord then they might have to pay more for the next rental or be refused. I would also call a collector on them so they have a red flag on their credit report for not paying rent

I agree with the thought. Unfortunately REALITY is far different. Our legal system which covers all, leans toward the tenant. Loss to the landlord it is assumed he can afford it and they do not want a bunch of homeless people on the streets. As far as evicting tenants for not paying rent it is or was easier in Florida than in places like NY or Chicago but I expect with covid it has become far more difficult.

As far as collection agencies, they will not spend much effort chasing after a couple of thousand dollars and should they collect they will take at least 1/3 of what they collect

[Tenmoss79]

I just retired from Property Management of 30 years in Maine. In those years, I never lost a months rent. I managed multiple properties for local landlords as well as for my own rental properties. One thing I did to prevent losses was to screen each prospective renter. I called 3 past landlord references and 3 personal references and checked their credit score every time I rented to someone. This system worked very well. Most people with a credit score of over 750 are very responsible with their finances and paying on whatever they obligate to. I also did not rent to people who could not afford to pay the rent. It does not matter where the money comes from, disability, SS or a pension, no need to discriminate! If they don't have a solid income, enough to pay rent and live comfortable on their monthly income, don't rent to them. That isn't discrimination. I was very surprised, as now a renter in The Villages, neither Landlord I rented from this winter checked my references, asked for a credit score or what my retirement income was. I always asked those questions and if someone reacted offended and unwilling to share, then I believe they have something to hide. I also, like others who have replied to this post will recommend not wasting time and money in court. I would spend my time and due diligence in the beginning of the Tenant/Landlord relationship with screening applicants very carefully and choosing the one who is the most qualified applicant. Being a good responsive landlord is also KEY to finding a good Tenant. I expect to be interviewed as a renter and I also interview my Landlord to make sure we are a good match! Good Luck going forward, I always believed, the minute I lose sleep over being a landlord is when I get out. 30 years later and I retired because I wanted to, not because it was unpleasant. Proper Screening for a good Tenant and being the best Landlord you can be is a means for success. Last but not least, sorry for any financial loss on this one and better luck next time!