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for landlords

Non-payment of rent, breach of lease, termination of tenancy

Residential

In order to remove a tenant you are required to file an eviction in court. Any attempt to use "self-help"  to get a tenant to move out is punishable by three month's rent, attorneys fees and court costs - per incident.

Before an eviction may be filed,  the landlord must terminate the tenancy.  

The three main reasons to evict a tenant are:

1. Non-payment of rent

2. Breach of the lease terms

3. Holding over after the tenancy has ended.

All of the forms are available on the FORMS page.   Be sure to read the instructions for the proper use of the forms

NON-PAYMENT OF RENT

Post a 3-day notice on the door of the rental unit.  If the notice is mailed or if the landlord uses a PO Box or an out of county address, you must add five additional calendar days to the 3 days to the due date.

Procedure

  • Post a 3 day notice on the tenant’s door

  • Did tenant offer payment within the 3 days ? You may require payment in certified funds

    • Yes, paid in full:  Tenancy not terminated

    • Partial Payement: 

      • Landlord may reject a partial payment and proceed to evict, 

      • or accept partial payment and issue a new 3-day for the balance due,

      • or file an eviction and deposit the partial payment in the court registry  

    • No payment: the tenancy is terminated. The eviction may be filed the next business day.

LEASE VIOLATION

  • curable:  issue 7 day notice to comply

    • Issue 7 Day notice to cure. May deliver by any means including email or text.

    • If the violation is complied in 7 days: case closed.

    • not complied: file complaint for lease violation

    • Violation re-occurs within a year: can file an eviction based on original notice.

  • incurable ( applicable only for violence and property destruction)  issue 7 day notice of lease termination

    • Issue a 7 Day Notice of Lease Termination. Do not use this form unless the violation involves violence or severe property damage. May deliver by any means including email or text.

    • tenant moved out in 7 days: case closed

    • tenant in still possession after 7 days:  file eviction

HOLDOVER

Lease:  If  there is a written lease,  the tenant is supposed to move out and the end of the lease,  otherwise the tenant becomes a “tenant at sufferance”  or a “holdover tenant.”  No notice is required.  The landlord may file a complaint for possession and damages the next business day.

No Lease:  If there is no lease,  the rental period is determined by the period  the tenant pays rent for.  I.e. if the tenant pays for a month’s rent,  the tenant is month to month.   If the tenant pays for a week,  the tenant is week to week.   The lease keeps renewing automatically until either the landlord or the tenant serves a notice of non-renewal. 

Procedure

  • Issue Notice of Non-renewal (15 day notice, 7 day notice for week to week).

    • Week to Week: The notice must be given  seven days before the end of a given weekly rental period for week to week

    • Month to Month: The notice must be fifteen days before the  end of a given monthly rental period for month to month, except in Dade, Broward, and Hillsborough Counties which require a 60 day notice

  • Tenant moves out: case closed

  • Tenant in still possession:  file eviction. May claim double per diem rent until the tenant is out.