Renter complains about landlord removing her front door
And who can blame her, really? WFLA News Channel 8 is reporting on the woes of Deidra Navarro. The Largo, Florida resident came home a few days ago to see not only was her front door open, it wasn’t even actually there at all. Navarro told WFLA, “I had my keys in my hand, and I was a little startled. Like, oh. Where’s my door?”
Now, Florida is an interesting state filled with many oddities and wonders, but as far as we can tell, the doors there haven’t been imbued with any special powers that would allow them to leave the buildings they’re attached to on their own. No, even in Florida, doors rely on people to move about. For now. And so what person was responsible for removing the door? Navarro says that it’s the property’s manager, Ash Farid.
Navarro told News Channel 8 that the Farid told her it was taken away for repairs (though nothing was wrong with it), and that he told her it was going to cost “$150 to replace the door and I had to pay $550…before they would put the door back on and it was going to take another day and a half for them to do it and I asked him again what was wrong with my door, and he told me it was ‘none of my business.’” She also mentioned that she’s complained about other problems but that this is the only thing they have, thus far, “fixed.”
Wow. After Deidra got in touch with WFLA, an astounding 10 days after she had been front-doorless, the news station spoke with Mr. Farid. In his incredibly nervous interview (seriously, check it out), Farid denied Navarro’s claims that they haven’t responded to her requests for repairs. He went on to mention that he is looking to evict Navarro, “She uses foul language, and she makes a lot of noise and there is very irresponsible behavior toward the tenants around." I have to wonder if that foul language came before or after she noticed HER FRONT DOOR HAD BEEN REMOVED.
After 10 days of using her bedroom door to at least give the appearance of not having a wide-open entry into her home and WFLA’s attention on the story, Farid relented and had a new door installed. Navarro thanked the Florida station, but the trouble isn’t over for her, she still may wind up being evicted. WFLA reached out to the property owner, but he didn’t respond in time for their story.
We can’t speak for all 50 states, but Florida’s government does specifically mention doors in their 2013 Florida Statutes. Title VI, Chapter 83 (Landlord and Tenant), Part II, section 83.67 states, “A landlord of any dwelling unit governed by this part shall not remove the outside doors, locks, roof, walls, or windows of the unit except for purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement; and the landlord shall not remove the tenant’s personal property from the dwelling unit unless such action is taken after surrender, abandonment, recovery of possession of the dwelling unit due to the death of the last remaining tenant in accordance with s. 83.59(3)(d), or a lawful eviction.” So, to all our readers in the Sunshine State, rest assured, your doors can’t just be taken away.
More info: WFLA, Florida State Legislature
