Eviction forgiveness ignores landlords’ plight

Let’s explore what Ryan Torrens is really promoting (“Eviction crisis needs a governor-in-chief,” Jan. 19). A landlord and a tenant voluntarily sign a lease whereby the tenant gets the use of the landlord’s house and agrees to pay rent. Subsequently, the tenant fails to pay the agreed rent but wants to continue to occupy the house and avoid the “trauma” of eviction. Torrens suggests that the landlord should be forced to negotiate with the tenant and accept less rent than is due under the lease. This negotiation is enforced by taking away landlords’ legal right to evict the nonpaying tenant, in other words suspending the rule of law. I am dismayed that a member of The Florida Bar and a former candidate for Florida attorney general would promote such unequal justice under law.

John Simpson Winter Park