Fl: Landlord Rented Me An Unpermitted Unit That Is Not Up To Code And Not Zoned For Rental Use. The Illegal Plumbing Caused A Sewage Backup That Damaged The Majority Of My Belongings. City Hall Told The Owner They Need To Terminate The Lease *immediately*.

LOCATION: FLORIDA

Hello,

First of all, I do NOT want to stay. I haven’t even been able to use the apartment because I could not get mail there, so I could not get internet equipment delivered, and I am a full-time employee and a full-time online student so I had to stay elsewhere for three weeks until I finally figured out the internet situation.

I did not realize at the time that these were red flags for an illegal unit. The unit itself is located in a very strict city - it is also gorgeous and fully renovated and was advertised by a licensed property manager so I had no concerns.

The address in my lease doesn’t even exist - not with mail carriers, emergency services, or anyone. The only way I was able to get internet service finally is when the landlord told the property manager to let me know that ISP’s probably recognize the parcel as a different address (which is apparently the old legal address for the parcel).

On the third week, I finally set up all my furniture, the internet, etc. and began running laundry for the first time. I had only showered briefly (did not wash my hair even) once and used the toilet a few times.

By 7pm that day, half of the unit flooded with sewage. The property manager refused to send a plumber until the next day, because the property owner was asleep and she couldn’t get ahold of him to confirm. I sent her photos, called one (after hours) myself which she finally agreed to and said we’d have to figure out the bill later, and I paid them $400 to snake the main line.

At this point, the plumber tells me it’s unusual for such a large property to only have one main line cleanout and that the plumbing likely isn’t up to code. The main house is a 4 bed/4bath and I am renting a 1b/1bath guesthouse unit in the back.

After doing some research, I realized the whole guesthouse is likely connected directly to the second main line cleanout on the property, and that this will happen repeatedly (which the plumber also said).

This led to me looking for permits, certificate of occupancy, etc. in public records. City hall verified there is not. There is also a standing code violation from 2018 in which the property was without a roof. The new roof passed inspection in 2024, but nothing else was inspected.

Today, they sent me a copy of the notice delivered to the landlord - which states the landlord must comply with all of their codes, terms, inspections, etc. and must immediately terminate the tenancy because the unit is not permitted for occupancy.

The problem is, the property owner has his address listed as the main house - but he doesn’t actually live there. The main house is rented out to other tenants, and I’m almost positive the owner himself isn’t even currently in the country.

So, based on this, I am concerned that I am going to have to keep paying rent for a place that

A) I cannot use

and

B) damaged all of my furniture and most of my personal belongings with category 3 water

I am currently paying for a hotel, after paying $3200 to move into the unit, and $400 for a plumber in one month. At this point, if I have to pay rent on the 1st, I won’t have a dime left to my name.

I spent thousands on the furniture as well and had to take a week off work to relocate the rest of my belongings, make up school work that I had to put off to clean up sewage for 12 hours straight, and to relocate myself.

My renter’s insurance does not cover sewage backups and has already denied my claim, and definitely isn’t going to cover me for loss of use.

As of right now, I am about $7,000 in the hole between security deposit, rent, furniture, plumber and hotel stay.

Do I have to continue paying rent on the first of December? Should I tell the property manager I will be leaving? What do I do?

The sewage flooding happened on the 19th and as of right now on the 27th, the unit still has industrial grade fans in it and drywall has not been replaced (I had to pressure them to call a professional remediation company who they sent out on the 24th).

My attorney is currently out of town with family for the holiday and won’t be back in time to meet with me regarding this before the first. I doubt I could even get ahold of another attorney before the first.