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Submitted by DakotaLegal on
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Submitted by DakotaLegal on
Florida has often been described as a very “pro landlord” state. Having said that, it is easier for a landlord to get an eviction order than in many other states. There are some groups that fight for renters, such as the PIRG: http://www.floridapirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/flf/ florida-pirg-renters-rights-manual-being-updated-coming-soon. If you want to fight the eviction, you can also make the process go on longer…though it would also mean paying your expected rental amount into a court escrow account. We’ll talk about that, as we cover the basic steps involved in a landlord actually evicting you. Keep in mind, until you get to the actual eviction (with a sheriff there), you can contest the landlord’s facts and (depending on how busy your local court is) add weeks or even be able to force the landlord to fix the rental, allowing you and your family to live in a habitable place. You can look at the court papers a landlord is supposed to use, here: http://www.floridabar. org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf/0a92a6dc 28e76ae58525700a005d0d53/a2490d4fa31363a88525771200482bdd!OpenDocument.
So here’s a typical timeline:
1. The landlord sends you either written 3-Day or 7-Day Notice, or else a 7-Day Notice to Cure, which has to be correctly Served. This time frame doesn’t include the actual day of service, weekends, or holidays.
2. After this three or seven day time period has run out, a landlord then files a Complaint with the County Clerk. The case must be filed in the county where the rental property is located. If there are any mistakes by the landlord, it starts the whole process over. You may be eligible to get low-cost legal help to protect your rights… http://floridalegal.org/.
3. Next (usually within two days) the County Clerk issues an Eviction Summons. That Summons has to be served on you by either the Sheriff or a licensed process server.
4. Avoiding service will not usually give you much extra time. Depending on your County, some Sheriff’s offices don’t allow private servers for evictions. The Sherriff’s office is usually busier than a private server, so this may give you an extra day or two.
5. After you get served, you get five days (again, not including weekends, holidays or the day of service) to answer that summons. If you do want to fight the case, the landlord then needs to schedule a hearing, which may add weeks to the process.
5A. If you don’t respond (again, within five days) the landlord gets a Motion for Default with the Clerk of Court. This is to get what’s called a Final Judgment for Possession and Writ of Possession. If a Default (you don’t answer) is entered by the Clerk, the Judge will look at the file and decide where to enter a Final Judgment for Possession. If he rules in favor of the landlord, the judge orders the County Court Clerk to issue a Writ of Possession.
If you do respond, then more time is added to the process.
6. The landlord gives the Clerk the Final Judgment for Possession. Most landlords do this the same day as getting the judgment.
7. The County Clerk issues the Writ of Possession to the Sheriff, usually the same day as they get the request from the landlord. This Writ is what means you have basically run out of time.
8. The Sheriff posts a Notice of Removal on your door. The Notice of Removal gives you only 24 hours notice from that moment, to leave and remove all of your personal property. After that 24 hours the Sheriff can actually remove you. Depending on the County Sheriff, this could be another day or even three days or more.
9. The Sheriff generally waits on the rental property until you leave, and gives you about 15 minutes.
There can be advantages to fighting the landlord, besides adding time. You may also win the right to the return of your security deposit. Here’s a sample of what that claim form looks like… http://www.franklinclerk.com/_docs/County %20Civil_ Small%20Claims_Evictions/statement_of_claim_security_deposit_refund.pdf.
Florida has often been described as a very “pro landlord” state. Having said that, it is easier for a landlord to get an eviction order than in many other states. There are some groups that fight for renters, such as the PIRG: http://www.floridapirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/flf/ florida-pirg-renters-rights-manual-being-updated-coming-soon. If you want to fight the eviction, you can also make the process go on longer…though it would also mean paying your expected rental amount into a court escrow account. We’ll talk about that, as we cover the basic steps involved in a landlord actually evicting you. Keep in mind, until you get to the actual eviction (with a sheriff there), you can contest the landlord’s facts and (depending on how busy your local court is) add weeks or even be able to force the landlord to fix the rental, allowing you and your family to live in a habitable place. You can look at the court papers a landlord is supposed to use, here: http://www.floridabar. org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf/0a92a6dc 28e76ae58525700a005d0d53/a2490d4fa31363a88525771200482bdd!OpenDocument.
So here’s a typical timeline:
1. The landlord sends you either written 3-Day or 7-Day Notice, or else a 7-Day Notice to Cure, which has to be correctly Served. This time frame doesn’t include the actual day of service, weekends, or holidays.
2. After this three or seven day time period has run out, a landlord then files a Complaint with the County Clerk. The case must be filed in the county where the rental property is located. If there are any mistakes by the landlord, it starts the whole process over. You may be eligible to get low-cost legal help to protect your rights… http://floridalegal.org/.
3. Next (usually within two days) the County Clerk issues an Eviction Summons. That Summons has to be served on you by either the Sheriff or a licensed process server.
4. Avoiding service will not usually give you much extra time. Depending on your County, some Sheriff’s offices don’t allow private servers for evictions. The Sherriff’s office is usually busier than a private server, so this may give you an extra day or two.
5. After you get served, you get five days (again, not including weekends, holidays or the day of service) to answer that summons. If you do want to fight the case, the landlord then needs to schedule a hearing, which may add weeks to the process.
5A. If you don’t respond (again, within five days) the landlord gets a Motion for Default with the Clerk of Court. This is to get what’s called a Final Judgment for Possession and Writ of Possession. If a Default (you don’t answer) is entered by the Clerk, the Judge will look at the file and decide where to enter a Final Judgment for Possession. If he rules in favor of the landlord, the judge orders the County Court Clerk to issue a Writ of Possession.
If you do respond, then more time is added to the process.
6. The landlord gives the Clerk the Final Judgment for Possession. Most landlords do this the same day as getting the judgment.
7. The County Clerk issues the Writ of Possession to the Sheriff, usually the same day as they get the request from the landlord. This Writ is what means you have basically run out of time.
8. The Sheriff posts a Notice of Removal on your door. The Notice of Removal gives you only 24 hours notice from that moment, to leave and remove all of your personal property. After that 24 hours the Sheriff can actually remove you. Depending on the County Sheriff, this could be another day or even three days or more.
9. The Sheriff generally waits on the rental property until you leave, and gives you about 15 minutes.
There can be advantages to fighting the landlord, besides adding time. You may also win the right to the return of your security deposit. Here’s a sample of what that claim form looks like… http://www.franklinclerk.com/_docs/County %20Civil_ Small%20Claims_Evictions/statement_of_claim_security_deposit_refund.pdf.