FL landlord tenant law, tenant's rights to getting deposit back

My first advice is for you to hire a qualified Florida real estate attorney with foreclosure experience to represent you. The issues which appear to be involved in your question are often times quite complex. Beyond this general advice, please understand that no good attorney will answer your question without discussing this matter with you in detail, without first reviewing the documents from your landlord/tenant suit, and without first reviewing the foreclosure Complaint and all other documents served on you. Without discussing this matter with you and reviewing such documentation, it would, for all intents and purposes, be impossible to properly advise you what type of answer or response you could use to protect yourself, and possibly optimize your position, in this matter. Furthermore, canned or fill-in-the-blank forms do not typically provide an adequate means to protect people involved in litigation, including foreclosures, and good attorneys typically do not recommend their use. That being said, however, it would appear from your question that you may have obtained a Final Judgment against your Landlord. If you obtained a Certified Copy of your Final Judgment (“Certified Judgment”) and recorded it in the Public Records of any County in which the Defendant/Landlord owned real property, that Certified Judgment automatically becomes an enforceable lien against all of the Defendant/Landlord’s real property in that County. Assuming that a Certified Judgment was recorded in the County’s Public Records, then you were probably included in the foreclosure action as a defendant, because your Certified Judgment is a lien against the building or house being foreclosed. You may also have been included in the foreclosure suit simply because you were the prevailing party in a Final Judgment against the Landlord. One of the Plaintiff’s benefits in filing a foreclosure action is being able to “clear title” and wipe out any inferior liens and mortgages (“inferior” refers to those liens and mortgages which were recorded in the Public Records after the Mortgage was recorded). It is almost certain that your Certified Judgment, if recorded, was recorded after the Mortgage was recorded and, therefore, most likely be inferior to the Mortgage. Typically inferior Certified Judgments, such as yours, are wiped out or declared unenforceable in a foreclosure suit, but only as against the real property being foreclosed. Importantly, the lien of your recorded Certified Judgment remains a valid lien against all of the Landlord’s other real property. There are many factors which can be taken into consideration in deciding whether or not to file a response, and what type of response to file, to a foreclosure suit. I can make no other recommendations, other than for you to make sure a Certified Copy of your Final Judgment has been recorded in every county in which the Landlord owns real estate. Further, just as the Mortgage holder is foreclosing its Mortgage, if you have recorded the Certified Copy of your Final Judgment, you also should have the right to foreclose your Certified Judgment lien against the Landlord’s real estate. I am sorry I could not be of further assistance. I hope the information I have provided is helpful. You really do need to be represented by a Real Estate Attorney with foreclosure experience. You can obtain names of licensed Florida real estate attorneys who have volunteered to provide inexpensive first conferences ($25 for first ½ hour, I believe) by calling The Florida Bar’s Lawyer Referral at 1-800-342-8011. Good Luck!

My first advice is for you to hire a qualified Florida real estate attorney with foreclosure experience to represent you. The issues which appear to be involved in your question are often times quite complex. Beyond this general advice, please understand that no good attorney will answer your question without discussing this matter with you in detail, without first reviewing the documents from your landlord/tenant suit, and without first reviewing the foreclosure Complaint and all other documents served on you. Without discussing this matter with you and reviewing such documentation, it would, for all intents and purposes, be impossible to properly advise you what type of answer or response you could use to protect yourself, and possibly optimize your position, in this matter. Furthermore, canned or fill-in-the-blank forms do not typically provide an adequate means to protect people involved in litigation, including foreclosures, and good attorneys typically do not recommend their use. That being said, however, it would appear from your question that you may have obtained a Final Judgment against your Landlord. If you obtained a Certified Copy of your Final Judgment (“Certified Judgment”) and recorded it in the Public Records of any County in which the Defendant/Landlord owned real property, that Certified Judgment automatically becomes an enforceable lien against all of the Defendant/Landlord’s real property in that County. Assuming that a Certified Judgment was recorded in the County’s Public Records, then you were probably included in the foreclosure action as a defendant, because your Certified Judgment is a lien against the building or house being foreclosed. You may also have been included in the foreclosure suit simply because you were the prevailing party in a Final Judgment against the Landlord. One of the Plaintiff’s benefits in filing a foreclosure action is being able to “clear title” and wipe out any inferior liens and mortgages (“inferior” refers to those liens and mortgages which were recorded in the Public Records after the Mortgage was recorded). It is almost certain that your Certified Judgment, if recorded, was recorded after the Mortgage was recorded and, therefore, most likely is inferior to the Mortgage. Typically inferior Certified Judgments, such as yours, are wiped out or declared unenforceable in a foreclosure suit, but only as against the real property being foreclosed. Importantly, the lien of your recorded Certified Judgment remains a valid lien against all of the Landlord’s other real property. There are many factors which can be taken into consideration in deciding whether or not to file a response, and what type of response to file, to a foreclosure suit. I can make no other recommendations, other than for you to make sure a Certified Copy of your Final Judgment has been recorded in every county in which the Landlord owns real estate. Further, just as the Mortgage holder is foreclosing its Mortgage, if you have recorded the Certified Copy of your Final Judgment, you also should have the right to foreclose your Certified Judgment lien against the Landlord’s real estate. I am sorry I could not be of further assistance. I hope the information I have provided is helpful. You really do need to be represented by a Real Estate Attorney with foreclosure experience. You can obtain names of licensed Florida real estate attorneys who have volunteered to provide inexpensive first conferences ($25 for first ½ hour, I believe) by calling The Florida Bar’s Lawyer Referral at 1-800-342-8011. Good Luck!

You should not try to do this yourself. Odds are you have a judgment in your favor against the landlord on record, and the purpose of naming you in the foreclosure case is to extinguish the lien of your judgment from the property being foreclosed. If that is all they are looking to do, there is really nothing you can do about it, But, to be safe, you should speak to an attorney who is knowledgable in foreclosure litigation, to make sure that that is the purpose of their serving you. The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) maintains a directory of consumer attorneys throughout the United States on its web site - www.naca.com - If you don't already have an attorney, this could help you to find someone knowledgable. Good luck.