Fair Housing

One of the most common complaints the I-TEAM receives involves tenants upset with their landlord about maintenance problems that are not being corrected. In many cases, we learn that tenants are often not following the correct legal steps to hold their landlord accountable. So we want to ask: do you know your rights as a tenant? What can you do if your a/c is not working? Has your landlord dragged their feet to fix maintenance problems in your apartment? Do you have pests or mold? Jacksonville Area Legal Aid attorney Mary DeVries, who specializes in Florida tenant rights, joined us on The Morning Show to walk us through what your landlord is required to do under the law and how to hold him or her responsible if they don’t do it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a steady impact on the finances of families across the First Coast, and despite vaccinations making it possible for more businesses to reopen, the number of landlords filing for court-ordered evictions remains high. "There have been a consistent level of filings," said Suzanne Garrow, an attorney with the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid office who works with renters facing eviction.

JALA files lawsuit  against Hilltop Apartments. This lawsuit, led by JALA, seeks a court order forcing the landlord to cure the infestation and provide temporary housing until the problems are resolved.  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tenants at Hilltop Village Apartments, a government-subsidized complex in Northwest Jacksonville that have been reporting problems with rodents for the past year have now asked a judge to force the owner to move them until the mice infestation is fixed.

Right now hundreds of people are facing eviction in Duval County. According to the Duval County Clerk of Courts Office, more than 450 evictions were filed in May, which is down from 940 in January. An estimated one in five renters are behind on payments. If you are being faced with an eviction lawsuit, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid has an online tool to help you create a legal response.

News4Jax phones were ringing off the hook Thursday morning when they offered viewers a chance to receive free legal advice from Jacksonville Area Legal Aid lawyers who were at News4Jax to answer questions about a tenant’s legal rights. News4Jax partnered with JALA to offer the phone bank after the I-TEAM investigation Rodent Residential uncovered a mice infestation at the Hilltop Village Apartments. Here are the answers to the three most commonly asked questions:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After announcing a program that opened for applications Monday to help with rent and utility assistance for those in need because of COVID-19, the city of Jacksonville just opened a similar program for mortgage assistance.