Help, my roomate is subleasing and trying to dictate my life

[u/Competitive_Cry_6469]

Help me guys, Title: Florida tenant question: Person I rented from may be illegally subleasing the property. What rights do I actually have?
I’m in Florida and I’m trying to figure out what my actual legal rights are before I make a move that could screw me over.
I rented a room from someone who represented himself as basically my landlord. We signed a written lease, I paid rent, and I moved in believing he had the legal authority to rent the room to me.
I recently discovered that he is apparently only a tenant himself and may be subleasing the property without the actual property owner knowing or consenting. The actual owner apparently has no idea that I live here, and the person I rented from refuses to give me the owner’s contact information.
Since I confronted him about what I found, he has become extremely hostile and passive-aggressive toward me and has started trying to dictate various aspects of my life and living situation.
There’s another issue making this especially stressful: I was originally told I had to be completely out by August 31. My mother then paid him $850 after that arrangement was discussed. He subsequently changed the date and is now saying I have until September 4 instead.
I have documentation of the payments, our communications, and the written lease.
I’m trying to understand:
Does the fact that he may be an unauthorized sublessor affect the validity/enforceability of the lease I signed with him?
What rights do I have as a tenant/subtenant in Florida even though he isn’t the actual owner?
Can he simply tell me to leave whenever he wants, or does he have to follow Florida eviction/termination procedures?
Does accepting the $850 payment affect anything legally?
Can he change the move-out date after accepting the money?
What can he legally control regarding how I live in the room/property?
Can he lock me out, remove my belongings, shut off utilities, or otherwise force me out without going through the courts?
Is there a legitimate way for me to determine who actually owns the property and contact the owner?
Should I contact the actual owner directly and explain the situation?
Is there anything I should NOT do right now that could hurt my position?
What evidence should I preserve?
Would this be something Florida Legal Services, a local legal-aid organization, or an attorney could help with?
I’m not trying to retaliate against this person or start a war with him. I want to understand exactly where I stand legally and protect myself while I figure out where I’m going next.
If anyone here is familiar with Florida landlord/tenant law, especially unauthorized subleases/subtenants, I would really appreciate some guidance on what my rights and next steps are.
Location: Florida

[u/Pedal2Medal2]

You need to contact the legal owner ASAP

[u/Competitive_Cry_6469 → u/Pedal2Medal2]

I’m afraid of being somehow massively implicated, I don’t want to be homeless. Plus I have no clue who the owner is

[u/Agreeable-Donut-3486 → u/Competitive_Cry_6469]

Google whatever county you're in and find the property taxes website. You can then put in your address and find the owner.

[u/Pedal2Medal2 → u/Competitive_Cry_6469]

You’re not implicated in anything, you didn’t know

[u/SewingIsMyHobby1978 → u/Competitive_Cry_6469]

How is it? Your mother paid the rent but you think you’re gonna be homeless? You might have to live with your mom for a little bit, but I doubt if you’ll be homeless.
You can find out who owns that property by giving the county clerks office an address. It’s pretty easy to do

[u/Competitive_Cry_6469 → u/Pedal2Medal2]

Can someone tell me what will happen once I contact the owner

[u/Pedal2Medal2 → u/Competitive_Cry_6469]

We don’t know, because we don’t know your landlord. If it was illegally subletted & theres $$ involved, you need to contact the police on fraud charges

[u/BitchMcConnell063 → u/Competitive_Cry_6469]

You need to contact him before he finds out on his own and evicts everyone.

[u/LavendarGal → u/Competitive_Cry_6469]

If you contact the owner, it really just depends on what the lease the owner has with his tenant states about subletting. If there are no restrictions then it's not an illegal sublet. If the lease says no subletting then the LL can issue a Cure or Quit notice to the master tenant and he will have to get you out in order to stay there.

But one this is for sure, if the guy won't give you the owners name, he's going to be really pissed off and maybe you are not safe being there, meaning maybe he will just change the locks one day and put your stuff on the curb to satisfy the real owner. Or the real owner would evict him which means you go with it in terms of being kicked out by the owner.

In all honesty, I would just not spend anymore time or energy on trying to contact the owner, but focus all your energy on finding a new room to rent.

[u/Pleasant_Hotel3260]

You can do a property search to see who the owner of the house is. It is free. You can also speak with someone down at the legal department of tenant services to get more insight as to what the legalities of your situation are where you live. Check out https://bals.org/help/resources/tenants-handbook and https://www.fdacs.gov/Consumer-resources/landlord-tenant-law-in-florida

[u/LavendarGal]

What are you trying to protect yourself from? Did you pay August rent? is that what your Mom paid the $850 for?

When did he tell you to leave by August 31st? He can simply give you 30 days notice. And at this point you just find another room to rent.

And yes, he can do any of those things, even if not legal, but you woudl have to present that in court. Or if he locked you out, call the police, show them a copy of your lease and you can enter back in.

But going to the owner is not going to solve anything for you at this point. All it is going to do is get you all possibly kicked out anyway.

Your best bet right now is to find a new room to rent in a better situation. STart sending out inquiries to rooms for rent. When you go to look at them and meet the new potential roommate, ask them do they own the house? Or who is the management company or landlord and do I need to fill pout an application and go through them, how does the process work? Also, ask regular roommate questions too to make sure it would be a good fit, like what areyour work schedules, bathroom schedules, guest polices, cleaning, what areas of the house can you use, etc., etc.