Archive: November 2019

When it comes to child custody, the general ‘trend’ today is to encourage joint custody, which allows a child to share the same or close to the same amount of time with both parents, and includes both legal (decision-making) and physical (where the child spends their time) custody. According to extensive studies, children who spend at least 35 percent of their time with each parent – where a developmentally-healthy, safe, secure environment is provided – are not only more likely to have a better relationship with that parent, but also tend to do better academically and otherwise. Studies also indicate that child in single and/or fatherless homes are more prone to homelessness (90 percent), dropping out of school (71 percent), and teen suicide (63 percent).

That being said, one-size-fits-all is, of course, never the case when it comes to child custody decisions; meaning that of course there are circumstances under which it does not make sense, for example, if there is a history of domestic violence or other illegal activities with one parent, or if the child has special needs and/or otherwise finds it debilitating to go between two households for other reasons, such as anxiety.

We’ve all had or heard our fair share of horror stories when it comes to landlord-tenant issues: renters who failed to pay rent, applicants who claimed they were discriminated against, people who claimed that they were injured on the property, etc. As a commercial landlord, there are several basic steps that you want to take before you rent to any tenants, and as attorneys who regularly help landlords with commercial leases, eviction proceedings, and other legal issues that come up, we emphasize taking these initial steps with our landlord clients, and discuss them below.

Read up on the different issues that landlords encounter and how to minimize risk, including the good, the bad, and the ugly.  This includes the full gamut of issues: how to screen potential tenants, your rights as a landlord, etc. Also try to speak with experienced landlords and learn from their mistakes, for example, the pros and cons of renting to friends.

As commercial landlord and tenant attorneys, we frequently have clients approach us asking about how to handle a commercial eviction proceeding for tenants who have failed to pay rent. Commercial property lawyers can be especially helpful in not only helping you draft the right commercial lease before your tenants move in so that you have adequate safeguards in place in the face of a worst-case scenario, but also in helping to advise you on what your rights are, as well as managing irresponsible tenants, if that worst-case scenario occurs.

Landlords have to be careful when it comes to evicting commercial tenants because, if it is not done in accordance with what procedures the law dictates, you can get into significant trouble. Below, we describe some steps you can take – ideally with the assistance of a commercial landlord attorney – to address the issue of tenants not paying rent:

The documents that you set up with your tenants are one of the most important aspects of your rental (or lease) agreement with them, as well as the safeguard you have to ensure that you are protected. Therefore, you not only want to invest time and resources into making sure that document says what you want and addresses issues that may come up—such as what happens to those tenants if you need to move into or sell the property—you also want to spend some time rechecking those documents and records before you take formal steps to evict these tenants. This is because, where specific terms are not spelled out in the agreement, state-mandated terms apply. While Florida law does not mandate that landlords provide tenants with any grace period within which their rent can be late (even though some states do), it is common for landlords to offer a five-to-seven-day grace period after it is due.

As attorneys who frequently represent homeowners’ associations here in Florida, we often see associations challenged on what are known as special assessments. These assessments are often necessary, still, there are tactics that associations can use in order to mitigate some of the effects and avoid litigation from owners in some circumstances, as we discuss below.

Special assessments are fees that are charged in addition to regular fees that are expected; typically to make up for budget shortfalls. While regular dues are charged monthly or quarterly, in order to keep the community running in terms of operating expenses such as electricity, exterior maintenance, insurance, landscaping, management, and others, associations also keep reserves to fund such expenditures such as street repaving and roof replacement. Reserve needs are determined by reserve studies, which determine the schedule for repairs over a 30-year timeline, as well as estimated costs. Florida requires condo associations to have reserves studies performed once every three years, however homeowners’ associations typically only have the studies done as often as what their governing documents require.