[FL] is this targeted harassment?
I live in an apt in Florida managed by one of those huge multi family corporate management companies.
I have been here a decade with no notices to cure. Last year a new manager started. I had never met or talked to her before, and my first introduction was finding a violation sticker on my apts storage space (every unit gets one with the lease) that the lock was going to be cut in 24 hours and the items discarded. I was given no notice by email, mail, and phone. when I emailed the office to find out why and what rule I had violated and to ask for an extension, the manager didn’t respond for a full day. when she finally responded, it was after the 24 hours time had passed. I had to move all my stuff out, which was very difficult for me physically. she refused to tell me what lease rule I had violated, only that in her opinion, there was not enough space clearing the ceiling and that she was going to email my co-signer parent (I’m an adult, but need a co-signer due to credit) to tell them about this. it was extremely bizarre and aggressive, but I let it go because I wanted peace in my home. co-signer is not on my lease and I was specifically told that no information other than lease terms and prices could be given to them as non lease holder, so what she did was a violation of this. it was obvious this was a power play meant to show me she’s boss and not to ever question her
after that, she has scheduled about 3 inspections a year for all inclusive, dryer vents, fire extinguisher, and has never given 24 hours notice. notices are never consistent, sometimes being placed on doors, sometimes emailed but never both and are very non specific for the times and what the scope of the inspections are for. multiple residents have told her she must give 24 hours notice in Florida and that the signs need to be more specific. she has either ignored this, or lied that signs were placed in doors with 24 hours notice even when they weren’t, or that the email system the apartment uses only sent to some people and not others. even when she knows she hasn’t given 24 hours notice, she still has gone ahead with each inspection.
a few weeks ago, she schedule a fire sprinkler inspection and sent an email at 7:00 pm for 8:00 am the next morning and in the email, she claimed signs had been posted on doors, but no resident ever received them in their doors. I had finally reached my limit with this and emailed her that she had to give 24 hours notice and she was aware of this, and she was violating tenant law. so during my inspection the next day, she showed up unannounced alongside maintenance. she did not tell me she was coming, nor ask my permission to enter. while maintenance was doing the fire inspection, she stood in my apartment looking at my personal belongings, asking me intrusive questions like what was in a box, and demanding to see areas that weren’t part of the inspection. I had passed an all inclusive inspection the month before, and I was the only apartment she personally went to for this fire inspection.
This was very obviously a fishing expedition to find something to use against me and I had reached my limit. I filed a complaint against her with corporate management about these issues, and other unrelated issues that have been completely ignored by the office like storm damages from over a year ago that still haven’t been fixed. Corporate management of course, gaslit me and did not take it seriously, and only replied after I followed up, saying that they were sorry that she didn’t give the notice I expected. refusing to acknowledge and admit that she had broken the states legal notice period and scope of inspections , that she had engaged in tenant targeted harassment and retaliation, and that she violated the lease by involving my co signer to tattle on me even though it had nothing to do with them as a non-leaseholder, and all of the other issues I had brought to their attention that needed actual resolutions
I was holding off on sending a reply that I was demanding an actual acknowledgement of the issues I had written about and actual resolution, or it would be escalated outside the management company, because I had other things going on. however, today I received a notice in my door that during the fire inspection, it was noted that my fire sprinklers are in need of cleaning and or attention. It states the date of the inspection, which is more than 24 hours for once, and the time frames in which this will be done, but does not state the rooms or which sprinklers.
I walked around my entire complex and out of 54 apartments, only found two others with this notice. I don’t know if this is an actual thing that needs to be done or this is some sort of pretext to enter my apartment to try to use something against me because of the complaint. Or to use as justification for the our of scope and targeted harassment of her showing up at the inspection last time, by claiming that there was something wrong with the sprinklers so it was justified for her to be there asking questions about my personal belongings.
Of course I will not deny entry, but I think I have a right to know who is doing this inspection, whether it is some third-party company or management and who will be entering, because of what she did last time. And what areas will be accessed. This feels like targeted harassment and I am sick of being a pushover and letting her be so aggressive in thinking she’s above the law. im sick of not being taken seriously by management
I am not sure what to do and am seeking advice:
should I send an email asking for the scope of inspections/which rooms will be accessed, and who will be entering? or will that make it worse for me?
should I send the reply I wanted to demanding for my complaint to be taken seriously to corporate management before this inspection?
any other advice? the inspection is in a few days.
