BELLIGERENT RESIDENTS

Every manager will someday deal with the situation when a resident comes storming into the office acting in a threatening or belligerent fashion. He may be unhappy about the rent going up, or because you are non-renewing him, or possibly because his car was towed, and it is all your fault according to him. He storms into your office, spewing profanities and acting aggressively towards you or others. It is possible that you have other prospects in the office who have to be subjected to this behavior by the resident. This can be a frightening experience, as the resident could go as far as threatening the life of staff members, or throwing objects about the office. Can you evict a resident for this behavior? Should he and other leaseholders of his apartment be served any type of notice?

Calling the Police

Unless the dispute is minor, we recommend that the police are called immediately. Although they most likely will not do anything but speak to you, your staff and the resident, it will send a clear message to the resident that you mean business and will not tolerate such behavior in or out of the office. By calling the police, you will also create the much needed paper trail in the event another incident of a similar nature occurs again.

Trespassing the Resident

If a disruptive incident happened more than once, a threat was made, you were put in fear of your life, the resident did some physical damage to the premises or interfered in a serious way with you conducting business in the office, you have a right to request that the attending police office or sheriff’s deputy file a trespass warning against the resident. If the sheriff does trespass the resident from the office and the resident returns, the resident can be arrested.

The Proper Notice to Use

If the office disturbance is such where there is yelling, profanity and general inappropriate behavior, while the manager would love to terminate the resident, this would not make for a strong termination case. In such a situation, a Seven Day Notice of Noncompliance with Opportunity to Cure should be given, and you should consult your attorney for the proper wording. If the disturbance rises to a much more serious level including direct threats of physical harm to persons or property, a Seven Day Notice of Termination would be the proper notice to use. Never prepare a Seven Day Notice of Termination yourself, but immediately call your attorney for guidance,

Continued Behavior

If a Seven Day Notice of Noncompliance With Opportunity To Cure has been served, and similar disturbances occur after the notice expires of which you have good proof, it will be possible to serve a Seven Day Notice of Termination. Again, your attorney should assist you in making that decision.

Some Final Thoughts

Most self-respecting managers will eventually have their vehicle keyed or their tires slashed by an angry resident. A number of situations occur each year in which managers and apartment community staff in Florida are injured and even killed by irate residents. Learn to try to diffuse situations whenever possible, as the risk is high that something serious can occur.