A Guide to the Eviction Process in Florida

As a Florida landlord,it is your responsibility to ensure that you are complying with all rental laws, from security deposits to eviction. In Florida, you can evict a tenant from your rental property for certain reasons. On your part, you must ensure the process is fair and follows the state’s eviction process.

In today’s blog, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step eviction process you must follow to evict a Florida tenant successfully.

A Guide to the Eviction Process in Florida

To kickstart an eviction process against a tenant in Florida, a landlord must have a legitimate reason.

For instance, it’d be illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant for the following reasons:

• As a Discriminatory Measure: The Florida fair housing laws protect tenants against discrimination based on 8 classes: race, sex, nationality, disability, color, familial status, religion, and pregnancy.
• As a Retaliatory Tactic: Florida tenants have a right to exercise legally protected rights, including, a right to complain to a landlord about an issue, join or form a tenants’ union for advocacy, and withhold rent for certain legal reasons.
• As a Form of Harassment: As a landlord, it’d be illegal for you to harass the tenant to force them out of the property. This includes threatening the tenant or entering their unit repeatedly and without notice.
• Using Self-Help Tactics: It’d be illegal for you to lock out the tenant, remove their belongings, or shut down utilities.

According to the landlord-tenant laws, legitimate reasons for tenant eviction in Florida include the following:

• Failure by the tenant to pay rent on time.
• Holding over after the lease is up. This is different than squatting on the premises.

• Violating a term of the lease agreement.
• Engaging in illegal activity.

Proceeding With an Eviction

The following is a basic overview of the process you must follow to obtain a court order:

Terminate the Lease

Once you have a legitimate reason for tenant eviction, you can terminate the tenant’s lease by serving them with an eviction notice.

The notice must contain certain information for it to be legally binding, including the reason for the eviction and what the tenant must do within the legal timeframe. Be sure to use the relevant eviction notice as different notices serve different purposes.

File a Lawsuit With the Court

If a tenant refuses to correct the violation or move out within the notice period, you can file a lawsuit with court. After successful filing, the court will issue a summons and complaint. A process server or a county sheriff will then have to serve it to the tenant.

Attend the Hearing

If the tenant contests their eviction, you’ll need to attend a court hearing. Regardless of whether the tenant contests the eviction or not, if the judgment is in your favor, the court will issue you with a court order.

In Florida, the court order is referred to as a Writ of Possession. This will be the tenant’s final notice to leave.

Eviction Notices for Lease Termination in Florida

Different eviction notices serve different purposes. As a landlord, you must know which eviction notice to use depending on the reason for eviction. Any mistakes here can delay the process.

The following are the eviction notices a landlord in Florida must use to terminate a lease:

• 3-Day Notice to Quit for Failing to Pay Rent.
• 30-Day Notice to Vacate for a Tenant on a Month-to-Month Lease or With No Lease.
• 7-Day Notice to Comply or Vacate for Minor Violations.
• 7-Day Notice to Vacate for Substantial Lease Violations.

You must serve an eviction notice to a tenant in a proper way. In Florida, you must serve it using any of the following methods:

• Delivering the notice the tenant by hand.
• Leaving a copy of the notice at the property if hand delivery fails.
• Delivering the notice by mail.

Tenant Eviction Defenses in Florida

Florida tenants have a right to contest their eviction as long as they have a valid legal defense. A legal defense is a valid reason why the tenant believes they shouldn’t be evicted.

The following are examples of situations that constitute valid legal defenses in Florida:

• The landlord used a self-help eviction tactic: Using a self-help eviction tactic, such as shutting down utilities, locking out the tenant, or removing their belongings from the unit to evict a tenant is illegal.
• The tenant cured the violation: For example, the tenant paid the due rent within the 3 days.
• The landlord discriminated against the tenant based on a protected class.
• The eviction is a retaliatory tactic.
• The tenant didn’t violate any term of the lease agreement as alleged by the landlord.

• The landlord failed to maintain the property as required by the state’s habitability standards.
• The eviction notice had substantial errors.

Attend the Court Hearing

If the tenant didn’t contest their eviction, you can proceed to court and obtain a default motion judgment. If the tenant does contest, the court will schedule a hearing.

Regardless of a contest or not, if the judgment is in your favor, the court will issue you with a Writ of Possession.

A Writ of Possession is a court order that gives a tenant the final notice to move out. In Florida, it gives a tenant up to 24 hours to move out. If the tenant ignores the notice, a sheriff will have to forcefully carry out the eviction.

Conclusion

As a Florida landlord, you must conduct a tenant eviction process in line with Chapter 83 Part II of Florida Statutes. Any action outside of this may cause you to open yourself up to significant liability.

For expert help in evicting a tenant or overall management of your Florida rental property, look no further than Ocean Realty & Property Management. We provide single property owners and property investors with reliable and professional property management services. Get in touch to learn more!

Disclaimer: Please note that the information provided in this blog is intended for general guidance and should not be considered as a replacement for professional legal advice. It is important to be aware that laws pertaining to property management may change, rendering this information outdated by the time you read it.