How do I combat our landlord?

Our Landlord took advantage of our kindness and our ignorance to our rights. There was water damage and we lived there for 6 months with a hole in the ceiling while she bantered about when it would be fixed. I had a confrontation with her boyfriend, he was in the house unannounced and verbally attacked me. After that she said we couldn't renew our lease. Our rent was always on time and we did labor in that house. We even paid for new carpet throughout. Now we just got our deducted deposit money back. She's charging us for new locks? Light bulbs? The one that bothers me most is the wooden closet doors in the lanai. The reason is that they were never and can't be attached to anything. She had new tile installed and never cut the doors down to a new fitting size nor put in any tracking for them. It's Florida, there's a stormy season, and they fell over. She's also charging us for some molding that was removed by her workers after the water damage. What?!|||"The landlord is never obligated to renew a lease, no matter what kind of tenants you have been."





That's not true in many places.





In my home state, leases are perpetual and automatically renew. Eviction is for cause only, for tenants other than those in a 2 or 3 family owner occupied building. They CANNOT be evicted simply because their lease has ended. As long as they pay their rent and honor the terms and conditions in their original lease, they are entitled to remain as tenants until they die.





In my work state, it is required by law that renewal leases be offered to nearly all tenants.





Maybe leases don't need to be renewed where you are ... but that's not the case everywhere.|||Your only recourse is to sue in small claims court. Have proof that these things were either there before you moved in or resulted in negligence by the landlord.|||Can you spell "lawyer"?|||You do need to learn the landlord/tenant laws in your state, because although you have some valid concerns it's clear you also have some unrealistic expectations and there are major things you don't understand.





1. The landlord is never obligated to renew a lease, no matter what kind of tenants you have been. You don't get points for paying your rent on time, because that's just what you're supposed to do.





2. Never put carpet or any other major improvement into a rental property. You are not entitled for credit for doing so, and in many cases it violates the terms of your lease.





3. If you had a hole in the ceiling you should have insisted she fix it immediately, not let it go six months. This is where knowledge of the law would have helped you a lot.





On the other side of the question, she is being outrageous. She is not allowed to charge you for new locks or lightbulbs. Unless you have documentation about the closet doors or the molding, I think you're just going to have to chalk those up to experience and move on.





Check the law, check with a lawyer if you need to, and enter into the next rental agreement older and wiser.|||Your kindness? No. Your ignorance? Yes.





You don't seem to have properly documented any of your statements. What exactly and precisely would you tell a judge and what laws would you cite, what lease provisions, and what proof of your case?





All I see is "we paid the rent on time and did work in the place, but they are horrible landlords." The water damage is a moot point, as you never made an issue of it formally.





Do you still want to live there? Or are you questioning the amount of the deposit refund?|||Small Claims Court is your best recourse.


Also, a Landlord is NEVER allowed to enter your house without your permission. It is illegal. If you want revenge, take them to court and tell the judge some of your valuables are missing. Not only will you be able to renew your lease, you may be able to stay rent free!