Gainesville couple seeking way to evict problem tenants

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - A Gainesville couple is trying to find a way to evict a tenant from their property they say is abusing the governor’s moratorium on evictions.

The landlord says the tenant has been living on the property for almost a year and has never been good with paying rent on time. However, when they filed for eviction the pandemic shut everything down and now the tenant has let two other family members move in and is now living for free without even trying to help cover expenses.

Mariella Carty is the wife to the property owner who said, “what am I going to do with people who are cranking my electricity bill, with people who are not supposed to be there and occupying two bedrooms and a big inflatable mattress in the living room. I just have people living for free on my expenses.”

The governor recently extended the moratorium on evictions to September but only to people "adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic." Carty does not believe her tenant falls into that category because neither he nor his family had a documented employer before the pandemic hit. Still, they say calling the police and going to the courthouse has resulted in no action.

Tv 20′s Landon Harrar reported, “Mariella says in unpaid rent and jacked up electric bills these tenants owe her more than $5000, but they refuse to pay anything because they know legally at least, for now, they can’t be evicted.

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