A Primer On Florida Landlord Tenant Law

thehigherstandard | Sep 2, 2010 |

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If you have recently received a 3 day eviction notice from your landlord, you might be wondering what the eviction process is like in Florida. This article is intended to provide a "down and dirty" primer on landlord tenant law.

While it is obvious that neither the landlord nor the tenant enter into a lease agreement hoping to one day be involved in eviction proceedings, the fact is that many tenancies are ultimately determined by a decision made by a judge or a jury. Accordingly, it is important for the Florida landlord and tenant to have a basic understanding of landlord tenant law.

In Florida, there are essentially four basic types of landlord tenant relationships: 1) residential tenancies, 2) commercial tenancies, 3) mobile home tenancies, and 4) self-service storage tenancies. Prior to 1973, the forms of tenancies did not formally exist independently as no legal distinction was made between them. In fact, they all received the same judicial and statutory treatment. Fortunately for the landlord and tenants, as well as the Florida eviction attorney, these forms of tenancies are now distinguished in Chapter 83, Florida Statutes, each having their own set of rules.

The most commonly discussed form of tenancy is the residential tenancy. Assuming that a proper 3 day eviction notice has been served upon the tenant, an eviction is commenced by the landlord filing an eviction complaint against the tenant. The type of eviction proceeding initiated depends upon the landlord's goals. If, for example, the landlord is only interested in recapturing possession of the rental property, the landlord can file a simple eviction complaint for possession. If, on the other hand, the landlord wants to pursue collection of the past due rent in addition to possession, the landlord can file what is known as a "hybrid" eviction complaint.

The next step in the Florida eviction process is to obtain proper service of process upon the tenant. There are several different methods of proper service. However, if the eviction complaint seeks monetary relief, the tenant must be personally served (i.e., hand delivered by a licensed process server or by the sheriff, and not posted). If the tenant cannot be personally served, the process server or sheriff is permitted to "post" the service on the front door of the rental premises. Please note that if service is made through posting, the landlord cannot receive an monetary judgment against the tenant and is limited to recovering possession of the property. Additionally, posting of service is only permitted after two unsuccessful attempts at personal service are made, with such attempts being made at least six hours apart. If this method is used, a copy of the summons and complaint must also be mailed by the Clerk of Court.

Next, the tenant is required to file an answer to the eviction complaint. If the landlord is seeking only possession of the premises, the tenant must file the response within five days, excluding weekends and legal holidays (as recognized by the Clerk of Court). If the landlord has filed a hybrid complaint, the tenant must respond to the possession count within five days of being served. However, tenant is afforded twenty days to respond to the part of the complaint seeking monetary relief. If the tenant fails to respond as required, the landlord is entitled to the relief demanded in the Complaint.

Finally, the Court will schedule a trial on the landlord tenant dispute. At that time, the judge or jury will determine whether the tenant owes the past due rent and whether the tenant has any properly raised defenses that will shield the tenant from liability, including but not limited to, improper service of process, the failure of the landlord to attach proper documentation to the complaint (such as the lease, the eviction notice, etc.), premature filing of the complaint, or an improper termination of the tenancy (such as a defective 3 day notice).