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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Remember the law is always foe the tenants. Against landlords

They could always file bankruptcy. Then you get nothing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

References Checking
 

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!