Q: What recourse does someone have in the State of Florida to get another person removed from a lease due to abandonment?
A couple signed an annual apartment lease effective December 1, 2021. The agreement was to equally share the expense. However, the girlfriend moved out (her own decision) in March 2022, along with all of her personal belongings and household furnishings. She also terminated all utilities that were in her name and forwarded her mail elsewhere. The boyfriend inquired of the apartment management to change the locks but was informed they would have to provide the girlfriend with keys to the locks since she is still on the lease. She has refused to remove her name from the lease and management says she is the only one who can do so. The boyfriend has been paying for all expenses related to the apartment. What recourses does he have? How can she be removed from the lease? Can he recoup her half of the expenses?
A: She can't be removed from the lease without the consent of the landlord (or the landlord's manager). And it doesn't appear that, she has breached the lease, so the landlord might not be able to remove her even then. He could perhaps sue her in small claims court for her share of the rental payments and expenses.
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