Q: I'm about to sign a lease for a Florida Condo rental. Im checked as responsible for wood destroying organisms? Termites?
Would i be responsible for the cost of a termite infestation if i signed this lease? Bedbugs, ants, and mice are also included, but those make sense. I just want to make sure I'm not signing a lease that could cost me.
A:
"83.51 Landlord’s obligation to maintain premises.—
(1) The landlord at all times during the tenancy shall:
(a) Comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health codes; or
(b) Where there are no applicable building, housing, or health codes, maintain the roofs, windows, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, and all other structural components in good repair and capable of resisting normal forces and loads and the plumbing in reasonable working condition. The landlord, at commencement of the tenancy, must ensure that screens are installed in a reasonable condition. Thereafter, the landlord must repair damage to screens once annually, when necessary, until termination of the rental agreement.
... The landlord’s obligations under this subsection may be altered or modified in writing with respect to a single-family home or duplex.
(2)(a) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, in addition to the requirements of subsection (1), the landlord of a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times during the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for:
1. The extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs. ..."
So, if it's a single family unit or duplex, the obligation of the landlord may be altered in the lease. Thus you should read the lease carefully before you sign it.
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