Q: If I am renting and the owner does not fix the A/C, can I withhold the rent and move without legal ramifications.
There is a management company managing my unit and the owner is not responding to approve the repairs of the A/C unit.
They have known about the estimate for over a week and they have yet to approve the repair/parts.
I have offered to pay for the $400 repair and take it from my rent that is due on the first of October. I have heard not a word from the management company or the repair company.
My son and I were not able to stay in the unit over the weekend. The screens in the windows are bent or have holes and we can not open the windows. And there is no screens on the balcony door nor the front door so we can not get any relief from those either.
A: If the landlord is not required by your lease to provide A/C, then it has no obligation to fix your A/C, as the landlord is not required to furnish A/C under the law. You are not allowed to withhold rent under these circumstances, else you face the prospect of eviction.
A:
Consider trying the "Two Step Tango:
Step 1. Locate a new place to move, start packing everything and get ready to relocate in very short order.
Step 2. Locate and hire a very experienced Florida lawyer to write the landlord and the management company a very short-fused tough demand letter listing all of the unacceptable things about your apartment, reiterating your willingness to fix the A/C yourself, and deduct the cost from the rent, and warning them that you will have to vacate the unit within 15 days--unless they repair all the deficiencies noted.
If the landlord and management company are smart, they will see that you are setting them up for future failure should they try to sue you later--for the unpaid rent left over after you left. If they ignore your letters do what you said you would do--and save copies for the Judge so he will know why you had to leave.
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