Landlord withholding security deposit

[barbhill]

Daughter and friends rented a home in Orlando, FL while away at college. They paid a total of $1800 in security deposit in order to rent the home. Also, my daughter paid a $250 pet deposit that was supposed to be refundable, upon clean inspection of the home.

After moving out of the home, the landlord did an inspection, and my daughter and landlord signed the pre-rental inspection form.

Then the landlord decides that the grass is ruined, and states that she will have to replace all the grass at a cost of $3000.

We live in FL, where we are in a perpetual state of drought. Girls ran the sprinkler system as directed, and paid for it in their water bill. One sprinkler head was broken, and never worked, so of course, the grass died at that spot, and in other areas. Girls also paid for a landscaper to mow the lawn.

Isn't the landlord supposed to maintain the sprinkler system as part of the "plumbing" system of the house? If the sprinklers were not working, and subsequently the grass died, wouldn't it be the fault of the landlord?

We don't have enough money to hire an attorney to look into this case. Is there some kind of guidance for small claims court? Would small claims be where to turn to to get the security deposit back?

Also, shouldn't the landlord refund the pet deposit which had nothing to do with the grass outside, and because it was a separate deposit?

Any advice is helpful! Thank you!

[justbroke]

This is a tough one for me. As a landlord, I would hardly blame the tenant for problems with the grass unless they a.) failed to report that the sprinklers were not working, and/or b.) they actually did things that caused the grass to die. Part (a) is an easy one to figure out, but part (b) would be more difficult.

You may want to consult some attorneys that specialize in tenancy law. Just to see what type of case you might have. Perhaps they'd take it on contingency (take part of the money recovered?).

If you want to try this yourself, you are in luck. Landlord and tenancy issues are actually a cause of action which the small claims court will hear in Florida (F.S. 34.011). The maximum for Florida small claims is $5,000. I think the filing fee in your case would be close to $300.

I suggested some consultations first, so as to see if you have an actual case that you could win.