Sumter County Small Claims Court - Experience / Comments
 

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.

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

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.

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

Reveiw
 

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.

Court
 

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—.

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.

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

Or hire Guido for the collection.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Reveiw
 

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!!!

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

Better Call Saul

The devil is in the details
 

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.

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.

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*

Illegal
 

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

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

Full Marks

Add any cleaning, damage, transportation, advertising costs, to your suit

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.

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.

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.

Another Option for the Future
 

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.

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

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.

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 $$$.

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….

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

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.

Getting a judgement and actually collecting is very difficult in Florida.

Go to court!
 

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!

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.

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.

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

We are too soon old and to late wise
 

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

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