DOMESTIC DISPUTES INJUNCTIONS AND RESTRAINING ORDERS

In the event of domestic violence, a party is able, by filing a sworn affidavit with the court, to get a temporary injunction for protection, also known as a restraining order, against another party. This injunction goes into effect almost immediately, and a hearing is set at a later time when a judge determines if the injunction is to continue or if it will be dismissed. The main purpose of an injunction is to keep one person away from another person, to prevent a possible escalation or continuation of violence or threats of violence.

A property manager is often made aware of the existence of an injunction by the person who has sought the injunction, the Petitioner. In most but not all, the Petitioner is a female resident. Situations will arise where the property manager is unwillingly brought into the picture. The property manager may be asked to change locks or may be asked by the Respondent to have access to the rental unit.

What Is Domestic Violence?: Domestic Violence as used in F.S. 741.28 - 741.31: "Domestic Violence" means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another who is or was residing in the same single dwelling unit.

"Family or household member" means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who have a child in common, regardless of whether they have been married or have resided together at any time.

What is Repeat Violence?: Violence as used in Florida Statute 784.046, means any assault, battery, sexual battery, or stalking by a person against any other person. "Repeat Violence" means two incidents of violence or stalking committed by the respondent, one of which must have been within 6 months of the filing of the petition, which are directed against the petitioner or the petitioner's immediate family member.

What is Dating Violence? Dating violence means violence between individuals who have or have had a continuing and significant relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.

What Will an Injunction Do for the Petitioner?

It will legally prevent an alleged abuser from committing any further acts of violence to the Petitioner or from threatening the Petitioner.

It may provide the Petitioner sole possession of a dwelling the Petitioner and the Respondent shared.

It may restrain the Respondent from going to, in or within 500 feet of Petitioner’s residence, place of employment, place of school, or places the Petitioner and family frequent.

It may provide no contact between the parties, in any manner.

It may require the Respondent attend counseling, treatment or a batterer's intervention program.

It may require the Respondent not to possess a firearm or to surrender any firearms to law enforcement.

It may address awarding temporary custody of any minor child (ren) between the parties, and visitation of the child (ren).

How Does A Party Get An Injunction Against Another Person?

The Petitioner must go to the courthouse and file a complaint. The person should bring with them police reports or referral cards furnished by a law enforcement officer, if any, proof of identification, specific dates of abuse or threats of abuse, specific locations where abuse or threats occurred, a mailing address of a friend or relative if the Petitioner chooses to keep the residence address "confidential" as provided by law, a picture, if any of the Respondent, to provide to Sheriff's Department for service purposes. The Petitioner must know and disclose the full legal name of Respondent, physical description of Respondent, current residence address of Respondent, including telephone number, social security number, if possible, and driver’s license number, Respondent's employer and employer's address and phone number, if possible, and Respondent's vehicle information, including make, model, color, year and tag number if any.

The “Temporary Injunction”

Upon review, the court may issue a “temporary injunction” which must then be served on the Respondent. The Petitioner can notify the Sheriff as to the whereabouts of the Respondent so the Respondent can be served. The key word here is “temporary”. The injunction will only last a certain fixed number of days, and then a court hearing will be set and held, at which the judge will decide if the injunction will be made permanent, the terms of the injunction, or if the injunction will be dropped. If the Petitioner fails to show up in court and pursue the injunction, the injunction will be dissolved. This is a common occurrence, so it is important that the property manager understands that an injunction may not be in effect when the Petitioner says it is in effect. This is where law enforcement comes into play, as they know through their computer system the actual status of the injunction. Never take the Petitioner’s or Respondent’s word for anything regarding the injunction. Get law enforcement involved.

Requests to Change Locks

In the event a property manager is asked to change locks on the premises, our office recommends that this is not done by the property manager, unless the property manager is specifically directed to do so by a court order. If the Petitioner wishes to changes the locks, we recommend that the Petitioner not be stopped from changing the locks and the Petitioner should be required to provide the property manager with a key.

Request For Access

A common scenario occurs when the Respondent comes into the property manager’s office and demands to be let into the unit or demands a key to the unit. Since the lease contract is between the parties and the property manager, it may seem that the property manager is required to grant the Respondent access. The police should be called immediately and asked to come to the property. Often the Respondent simply wishes to get clothing or other personal items from the property. The police will often accompany the Respondent to the rental unit, at which time the property manager, upon request, can grant access to the police and the Respondent. Often when the property manager indicates that the police will need to be involved, the Respondent takes off out of the office and does not wish to deal with the police. Never should the property manager take it upon himself or herself to assist the Respondent. Law enforcement should be involved.

Requests To Be Let Out Of The Lease

The Petitioner or the Respondent may request to be let out of the lease, either because they no longer have legal access due to the injunction, or the Petitioner wishes to move away from the property to a place where the Respondent cannot locate him or her. It will be a business decision by your owner or company as to whether this request will be granted. If it is granted, the other party does not have to agree to this request, and you can let either or both parties out of the lease obligation. Your attorney should be called in cases such as these, so the proper documents can be executed. Remember that if you let the Petitioner out of the lease, the Respondent still has a contract with you and has a legal right to possession of the rental unit, even though this right of possession may not be able to be exercised due to the injunction. Never remove the Respondent’s property from the unit or take possession, unless it is certain that all parties have relinquished to you full possession of the premises.

Requests By The Petitioner To Take the Respondent Off the Lease

In some cases, once the injunction becomes permanent or in the event the Respondent is incarcerated or otherwise indisposed, the Petitioner will request that the Respondent be taken off of the lease. One resident cannot unilaterally take another resident off of a lease. The party being taken off of the lease must agree to this. No matter what story you get from the resident, you cannot take the Respondent off of the lease. Your contract is with both the Petitioner and the Respondent. Their personal issues are not your problem, and unless you are ordered by a judge to remove an individual from a lease, you cannot oblige.

The Petitioner Vacates – Is the Unit Abandoned or Surrendered?

The Petitioner who was granted occupancy of the rental unit by the court may vacate the premises. Is the unit abandoned? Can it be surrendered? We are not sure. Since the lease agreement is valid with both parties, the fact that the Petitioner vacates most likely cannot grant possession to the manager. After all, the Respondent would be living there if he or she could, but simply cannot as the injunction prohibits this. Personal property may be left behind by the Petitioner who vacates the premises, and this property may belong to the Respondent. The Respondent may even petition the court to have the right to use the premises in the event the Petitioner vacates. This is an odd situation, and we urge you to call your attorney to see what options you may have based on the fact pattern.

Our Recommendations

Since an injunction is not an everyday occurrence the property manager must deal with, we strongly urge you to call your attorney the moment the issue arises. Handling the matter incorrectly could result in serious liability for the manager or property manager. Most importantly, never get emotionally involved with a dispute between residents. Taking sides can often lead to poor judgment calls, surprises and retaliation against the property manager.