TENANT EVICTIONS – HOW THEY WORK

In Florida a tenant eviction can be fast and easy, or, if not done properly, a nightmare, dragging on for several months, requiring court appearances by landlord and tenant, costing the landlord time, energy and loss of rental income.

At the Engelman Law P.A., attorney Engelman has years of experience handling residential and commercial evictions, leases and other landlord-tenant matters throughout South Florida. You can feel confident that your landlord-tenant problem will be resolved to your satisfaction, and for a reasonable fee. You can relax; we’ll take care of virtually everything, taking the uncertainty, pressure and stress off of you.

The vast majority of evictions for “non-payment of rent” or “termination of lease” are completed quickly, in about a month. If you are a Landlord who maintains the physical condition of your rental property in good working order, up to basic standards, then evictions for non-payment of rent and termination of lease are typically accomplished with no problems. Post the Three Day Notice, post the Five Day Summons and Complaint, take a default, get a judgment, the Clerk issues a Writ of Possession, the Sheriff puts the tenant out, and four weeks or so after you filed your first papers, the tenant is gone.

But if you are a landlord who has not maintained your property to basic minimum standards, you could have a problem. For example, if it is July and August in Miami and the A/C in the apartment does not work, the tenant has contacted you several times about the problem, and for whatever reason, you have not taken care of the repair or replacement yet, you can expect the tenant may file a complaint with the city government and “withhold rent” until you fix the A/C. This will lead you to start an eviction for “non-payment of rent.” Because the tenant claims a rent reduction based on no A/C, the court will schedule a hearing, and the judge is going to ask you why you did not repair the A/C and may order the tenant’s rent reduced, or abated, until the A/C is working again. The landlord must also make certain there is sufficient hot water for the number of people living in the unit, that the appliances all operate, the doors, windows and screens are in working order, and there is no substantial mold buildup that would adversely affect the tenant’s heath.

If you have maintained your property in good working order and the rent is past due, and you take the proper legal steps to evict the tenant, you will get a judgment for possession of the property and removing the tenant from the premises. Additionally, you may recover all or a portion of the past-due rent money and retain the security deposit. The tenant may file an answer to your eviction Complaint, and you (or your representative) may have to appear for Mediation or a Hearing at the courthouse, but in the end you will get possession of the property. If not in four weeks, then typically in about a month and a half if the case is ordered to Mediation.

There are many other situations that require an “eviction”. For example, you may own a condo unit and you let a friend or family member live there “for free”, no rent, for a month or two or three. Under Florida law, this is not a “landlord-tenant” relationship, because there is no rent paid. Now, after your friend or family member has been living in your condo for six months or more, he/she does not want to move out. You cannot “evict” because he/she is not a “tenant”, but you still need to force the person to move out. We can do that for you. If you are the property owner, you have the absolute right to possession and control of your property, and to put others out from it. Call our office now for more information and to discuss your particular situation.