Tenants in common each have an equal right to possession of the whole property, but also must share in the costs of upkeep and ownership. If you pay the property taxes and insurance for the property, you have a legal claim against the other tenant in common for half of the expenses. The other tenant in common cannot charge you rent because your interest entitles you to possession of the whole. However, there is one caveat to this. If you have locked out the other tenant (whether actually or constructively), then the other tenant may have a claim against you for the fair rental value during the time he was locked out. But you must have actually denied him access to the property for this to occur. If he had keys to the property and could come and go as he pleased, but chose not to, then he is not entitled to rent.

Nope, he's just as responsable as you are and so long as he's living there you don't owe him rent.

I don't know for sure about Florida...y'all have some strange laws down there that other states don't. lol However, I agree, that as Tenants in Common you BOTH have liabilities for the taxes and insurance; AND assets in that currently both should have access to the property's use. I would strongly encourage you two to sit down and make some reasonable decisions as to what you are going to do with this house. In states where I do know about the laws, I can say that if it goes to court, the Judge will be looking at both the liabilities side and the assets side. If he chose to leave, and you chose to stay, YOU have benefited the most from the use of the property. And depending upon the exact wording of the laws (in any state) it could be that the Judge would have you pay say 2/3's of the taxes and insurance NOW and even things up when you decide to sell it. It's all dependent on your state's exact application of the law. If Florida law is reasonable, I suspect that YOU may have to pony up all of it, until you decided to sell and split all the costs and proceeds, at which point he would forfeit his share THEN of the costs back to you. Why have a headache? Why NOT sit down over coffee and hammer out a reasonable agreement..you both paid in half, you both probably helped make it a home, and at one time you probably loved each other...life is short...create a positive solution so you can get on with it!