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Sun Harbour Apartments: 60 Days Notice Required Before Dying

consumerist.com — When Consumerist reader Eric Zissen's brother died in his Florida apartment, he made a big mistake. He failed to give the landlord 60 days advance notice he was going to die. Or so it would seem judging from the fact that the Sun Harbour apartment complex jacked his security deposit and charged his estate rent for the remaining three months of the

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 27, 2009

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  • JoeVet, on 01/27/2009, -4/+27 Alan Stotsky, Real Estate Broker
    AMERICAN COASTAL REALTY & YACHT SALES, INC.
    1411 S.W. 2 Street, Suite # 3
    Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
    Toll free: 1-888-512-8710
    CALL US TODAY: 954-462-8710
    E-Mail: American@rentflorida.net
    http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:JSIteLBQ9nUJ:w ...
  • sigmaman2, on 01/27/2009, -1/+18From Wikipedia:
    "Abandonment of domicile occurs when one ceases to reside permanently in a former domicile, coupled with the intention of choosing a new domicile."

    So, if the tenant intended to go live in heaven when he died, then the landlord should have a pretty solid case.

    /s
  • marc01564, on 01/26/2009, -4/+18Memo to God: Please fix this situation at once.
  • kevinrug, on 01/27/2009, -1/+15The guy at that number wasn't too happy with me calling him at 3 am and calling him a douche bag.
  • WNW3, on 01/26/2009, -1/+14Looks like the landlord in the video had a planned response and then about 3 seconds into it his brain exploded.
  • replaysMike, on 01/27/2009, -0/+13Douche. The bag is optional.
  • RHMac, on 01/26/2009, -0/+12That's just mean. They even let you out of marriage when you die.
  • staticsynapse, on 01/27/2009, -0/+10"Since the video was shot, the family took the case to court and won. But then the landlord appealed..."

    C'mon. Talk about abusing the system. We need way harsher laws regarding ridiculous cases such as this. I hope the next judge finds some way to ream that guy for wasting his time and wasting that family's time and money.
  • inactive, on 01/27/2009, -0/+10Are you telling me there's not one condo available in all of Del Boca Vista?
  • MooseOfReason, on 01/27/2009, -1/+9I'd say his death would void the terms of the contract.

    If not, the guy interviewed in the video said he notified them on the 24th, two days after the death. They should have ended the lease right there.
  • classhelper, on 01/26/2009, -1/+9Perhaps he can sue the fellow's estate for undue emotional distress from the publicity surrounding this matter.
  • brandita, on 01/27/2009, -0/+8Talk about dying to get out of a lease.
    But seriously this makes my landlord look nice.
  • inactive, on 01/27/2009, -1/+8oh thats gunna suck for him
  • nils, on 01/27/2009, -0/+6That's a POV issue. You don't pay taxes anymore, your heirs do.
  • tattertech, on 01/27/2009, -0/+6Because no one's been surprised by a heart attack before?
  • inactive, on 01/27/2009, -0/+6There are 3 months in 60 days?
  • bluemansteele, on 01/27/2009, -0/+6I hope no one ever rents there again and that everyone who can moves out right away. What money grubbing scum.
  • Murse, on 01/27/2009, -1/+6Good point.
  • ORBAT, on 01/27/2009, -0/+5Here, let me introduce you to two friends of mine: , and .
    They're really handy when it comes to writing coherent sentences. Oh, and ,'s cousin BECAUSE would also like to meet you.

    You should really stop huffing solvents, it's clearly doing a lot of damage to your brain.
  • brandita, on 01/27/2009, -0/+5but not taxes.
  • nils, on 01/27/2009, -0/+4I don't know the legal situation, as IANAL, but common sense would say that the lease should have ended as soon as the apartment was vacated of the deceased one's possessions, and thus became free to rent out again. Even if they charge rent until they find someone new, I really don't see why they should automatically keep the security deposit. Basically it does smell like a rip off.
  • SniperZero, on 01/27/2009, -0/+3*wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*
  • mannyqui, on 01/27/2009, -0/+3I'm pretty sure that landlord vote for Palin as VICE president buddy, hence the reason why I am so glad she didn't win.
  • moulin1, on 01/27/2009, -1/+4One of the most basic rules of contract law is that all contracts terminate on the death of either party. The complex's lawyers know this perfectly well. Lawyer's who pursue a case in full knowledge that they have no basis or arguement (ie a "frivolous" suit) need to be censured (fined) and answer to ethics violations before the bar. But in the reality of our corrupt legal system many lawyers make a living pursuing nothing but bogus cases. And make a very good living at it too.
  • ccarrlaw, on 01/27/2009, -1/+3What goes around, comes around ... screw him
  • ileftfark, on 01/27/2009, -0/+2And please bring Capt. America as backup.
  • mdaize, on 01/28/2009, -0/+2I agree with you. IIRC, the estate is responsible for ending all contracts appropriate to the terms.

    SURE, its not quite fair nor is it respectful, but it is a contract and the terms were set out in a signed contract.

    Contracts aren't automatically VOIDED. If that was the case, then loans and such would be as well instead of being offloaded to the estate/family.

  • qwertydvorak, on 01/27/2009, -1/+3your estate pays any debts owed. the estate must be settled before the heirs can collect any money from the estate. life insurance is not included in the estate. life insurance goes directly, tax free, to the beneficiary. the landlord should get paid. many diggers who are bitching about the landlord are probably too young to have had someone die and had to execute an estate.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_(law)
  • ORBAT, on 01/27/2009, -0/+2NO U!
  • blueswannabe, on 01/27/2009, -0/+2***** you Mr. Landlord, ***** You...
  • MooseOfReason, on 01/27/2009, -0/+2You're why we can't have nice things.
  • Testiculese, on 01/27/2009, -0/+2The hell it would. What a ***** disaster that would have been.
  • darwinwin, on 06/18/2009, -1/+3To all those bitching how he should pay even after being dead, what if he had signed a contract with employer and now that he is dead, do you think the employer is going to pay him for next whatever number of years he is left on his contract. Legally that also becomes a binding but we never hear that happening ...
    Stop being a bitch about this.... it seems like money is the only reason you bitches are living ... and would take any opportunity to grab it from anywhere as long as it comes for free ... ***** idiots seems like you have lost all the compassion for humanity and all this is just greed .... no ***** wonder you will come with things like its the law and they should abide by it even if they are dead ...

    ***** You ***** ...

  • mannyqui, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1mean while we pay the taxes for this idiot's use of the system..... pff!
  • MooseOfReason, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1Nobody talked about three months. They were talking about the contract which requires 60-day notice if you're moving out.
  • MooseOfReason, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1They treat the homeless pretty well up there, I hear.
  • nils, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1Dunno, seems perfectly legitimate. Presumably the landlord will get laughed out of court on appeal, and justice is served. That, then, would mean that the system actually works.
  • malanic, on 01/27/2009, -3/+4The landlord is an arsehole, however the man signed a contract with him. He promised to pay if he terminated the lease early. Unless there's some death clause in the lease, then why should this guy's brother be entitled to money that the person had already signed away before he died?
    It should come out of the estate before the brother gets his cut.

    I'll no doubt be buried.
  • malanic, on 01/28/2009, -0/+1Exactly.
    For all those advocating tearing up a lease upon a death, I wonder how they'd feel if it was the landlord who died. What if the landlords benefactors wanted to tear up the leases and double the rent, or evict everyone and bulldoze the place for redevelopment.
    I'm sure they'd change their tunes if that were the case.
  • JoeVet, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1RIAA is the example you're looking for.
  • DynamicBits, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/10/11/
  • ChildeRoland420, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1If the Landlord should get paid for the remaining 3 months, then there is no reason that he should also get the security deposit. Why should he care if someone lives there as long as the rent gets paid, if that's the case, then the heirs should get the deposit.
  • twertyto, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1hahaha
  • Clumber, on 01/27/2009, -0/+1on your home planet - move = die?

    -blank stare-
  • raananh, on 01/27/2009, -1/+1I was a member in a gym for 5 years and when I wanted to cancel the membership because of a move, they said I have to inform them 2 months in advance.
  • catxors, on 01/28/2009, -1/+1The Consumerist sucks so bad. I really can't tell what happened from reading either their article or the one they linked to. From what I understand, the settled law on contracts is that unless the contract is terminable at will (e.g., month-to-month lease), the contract remains valid and binding upon the decedent's estate. Obviously it kind of sucks but apparently when you sign a lease the courts expect you to know this and take adequate insurance against your death if you need to.

    But according to the article they won some sort of case. But we have no idea what the case actually was. The articles seem to be saying that the landlord sent a bill to the relatives. If he sent a bill to the relatives and not the estate, obviously that would be rejected. But if it's an action against the estate, then who knows what's going on, but wouldn't be surprising that the landlord's lawyers think they can win.
  • Prasheed, on 01/27/2009, -0/+0Maybe you should go back to grade school and learn how listen and read because this guy died of a heart attack. I don't know about you but I could not say I'm going to have a heart attack and die in 60 days so I'm going to have to cancel my lease. Think before you comment and you might sound smarter than a ham sandwich at least.
  • greevar, on 01/27/2009, -1/+1Landlords are pigs. End of story.
  • Prasheed, on 01/27/2009, -0/+0I am an EMT and I've responded to calls were a perfectly healthy 32yr old male has just dropped dead of a heart attack he had no medical history nothing so twertyto you fail.
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