Can a landlord charge me for eviction costs, if I was not evicted.?
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Can a landlord charge me for eviction costs, if I was not evicted.?
My landlord sent me 3 day notice for non-payment on the the 7th; payment was due on the 5th. I sent payment on the 9th9certified mail, however he didn’t get it until the 13th when he cashed it on the 14th. He had started proceeding on the 13th and then says he stopped proceedings but he is charging me $235 for his eviction proceeding costs. Can he do that without even trying to collect a late fee and so soon?
Asked on April 20, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Florida
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Your landlord can charge you the $235 eviction costs even though you were not evicted. The real issue that I see is whether or not your landlord is contractually able to collect such fees with respect to your lease for the unit you have.
In order to ascertain whether this is so, you need to carefully read the presumed written lease that you have in that its terms and conditions control the obligations owed to you by the landlord and vice versa in the absence of conflicting state law.
Since you sent payment before the eviction proceedings began, I would say that the landlord is not entitled to the $235 you write about unless the presumed written lease you have states otherwise.
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