Tenant with holding rent for repair

[Himateja Madala]

Hi All,

I own a rental property in Wellington managed by myself remotely from CA. I have been having a difficult time finding reasonable handyman in the area.

recently i had new tenant move in and she found some issues and listed they be fixed on the leasing agreement. I had a handy man come in and fix  the issues but she kept on adding to the list . Finally the contractor gave up on me unable to bear the drama.

Tenant is a drama queen.Now the tenant withholds part of the rent and she says she will get it fixed since i am not getting things done on time.

Is this even legal to do so. Can i evict her on this basis?

Should i let her with hold rent .In long term i believe this is not good practice

The issue is Patio screens are torn and need repair and i was looking for a handyman who can do this.Are patio screens mandatory repair  in Florida? what if my property didnt have patio screens.

[Allan Smith]

I you have let the tenant become the alpha. She's running the show, you are a squirrel trying to get a nut.

you need to get the frame back from her.

effective managers follow company policy firmly. If it were me, she's getting an eviction letter for nonpayment. Next time, hire a mgr to screen tenants and train them. This begins the moment the property is listed. A big step in that process is going over the lease with the tenant.