I'm writing to you to help me resolve an issue with Dade County Solid Waste Management. I purchased a house last year in June.

I hired an attorney to represent me due to the complexities of real estate transactions. The attorney did all the customary search of liens. All the issues pertaining to the title were resolved prior to closing.

In early August we received a bill for $1,700 for waste pick up. When I called I was told this represented a bill for a detached guest house on my property, and they were going back three years. They said by law they are entitled to do so. They also said the attorney never requested anything in writing from them, and therefore I have no claim against them. I could understand paying for three years if I had owned the property at the time. They failed to bill the prior owner or place liens on the property.

I'm not sure if my attorney failed me because she was not familiar with laws pertaining to my type of property, or was it just Dade County for not billing on a timely basis. I have made several calls to DCWM and they refuse to work with me. We are all hurting in these hard economic times. I lost my job earlier this year and can absolutely not afford a frivolous bill.

-- Adriana Aviles, via e-mail

A.We contacted Dade County Solid Waste Management spokeswoman Gayle Love, who said that the department's records show that your property was being billed as one unit until May of 2009.

The department noticed what appeared to be a second living unit and conducted an inspection on April 29. The inspection confirmed the existence of the second living unit, which is also supported by the property tax records, she said.

According to Chapter 15 of the Miami-Dade County Code, the department bills three prior years when additional units are discovered. Therefore, a bill was generated on May 4, 2009 for the additional unit, covering the fees for three prior years (2006 though 2008) and the current year (2009), totaling $1,716.00.

The records indicate that you acquired the property on June 8, 2008, but a waste certificate was not obtained from the department at the time of the closing, when bills were prorated, she said. The fact that the department's bill was for only one unit (not two) should have been addressed by your lawyer.

``The Department sympathizes with Ms. Aviles' situation,'' Love said. ``We have offered her an installment payment plan to satisfy these fees. We trust we will be able to work with her in bringing this situation to settlement.''

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