How Do I Evict a Tenant in Florida?
In Florida, a landlord evicts a tenant by serving a written notice — 3 days for unpaid rent, 7 days for a lease violation — then filing an eviction complaint in county court if the tenant does not comply. The tenant then has 5 business days to respond, and only the sheriff, never the landlord, may physically remove someone from the property.
The Notice Landlords Must Serve First
Florida law will not let a landlord walk into county court on day one. Under Fla. Stat. § 83.56, the landlord must first serve the right written notice and let it fully expire.
For nonpayment of rent, § 83.56(3) requires a 3-day notice demanding rent or possession. The day of delivery does not count, and Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded from the count — so a notice delivered Thursday afternoon does not expire until the following Wednesday. If the notice is mailed rather than hand-delivered or posted, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090(e) adds 5 more days.
For lease violations, the notice period is 7 days, but the type differs. Under § 83.56(2)(b), a curable violation — an unauthorized pet, an extra vehicle, an unauthorized guest — gets a 7-day notice to cure; fix it and the tenancy continues, though the same violation recurring within 12 months lets the landlord terminate without a second chance. Under § 83.56(2)(a), an incurable violation — intentionally damaging the unit, repeated unreasonable disturbances, unauthorized subletting — gets a 7-day notice to vacate with no opportunity to fix it. Filing suit before the full notice period has run is one of the most common reasons an eviction case gets dismissed.
Filing the Eviction Complaint in County Court
Once the notice period expires and the tenant has neither paid, cured, nor moved out, the landlord files an eviction complaint for possession in the county court where the rental property sits. The complaint should attach a copy of the lease and the expired notice, along with a servicemembers non-military affidavit.
Filing an eviction for possession only is generally a low-cost county court filing — commonly around $185 in most Florida counties under the court fee schedule in § 34.041, plus a smaller summons fee — though it runs higher if the landlord also sues for unpaid rent or damages, and fees can change, so confirm the current amount with the clerk before filing. The clerk issues a summons, which a sheriff’s deputy or a certified process server delivers to the tenant; self-service by the landlord is not allowed.
The Tenant’s Five-Day Window to Respond
After being served, the tenant does not get weeks to sit on an eviction complaint. Under § 83.60(2), the tenant has 5 business days — again excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays — to file a written answer with the court.
In a nonpayment case, the statute adds a second requirement most tenants do not expect: the tenant must also deposit the rent the landlord claims is owed into the court registry, or file a motion asking the court to determine the correct amount, within that same window. Missing the deposit deadline waives every defense except actual payment of the rent — even a good defense on the merits can be lost this way.
Default Judgment, Contested Hearings, and the Writ of Possession
If the tenant misses the 5-business-day window entirely, the landlord can ask the clerk for a default, then move for a default final judgment for possession — often available within about a week of service. If the tenant answers on time, the case proceeds like any other civil matter, with a hearing if there are factual disputes to resolve.
Once a judge signs a final judgment awarding possession to the landlord, the clerk issues a writ of possession and forwards it to the sheriff for enforcement. The writ, not the judgment alone, is what authorizes physical removal.
Why Self-Help Evictions Are Illegal
No matter how far behind on rent a tenant is, or how bad the lease violation, a Florida landlord cannot skip the court process. § 83.67 specifically prohibits changing or adding locks, shutting off electricity, water, gas, or other utilities, removing doors or windows, or removing and disposing of a tenant’s belongings outside a lawful eviction.
The penalty is meant to sting: a tenant subjected to a self-help eviction can recover their actual damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. On an ordinary Miami-Dade rental, that floor alone can run into the thousands of dollars before legal fees are even added.
Enforcement stays with the sheriff even at the finish line. After receiving the writ of possession, the sheriff posts a 24-hour notice on the property before removing anyone, and that 24-hour clock is not paused by a weekend or holiday.
Evicting a Tenant in Miami-Dade
Landlord-tenant eviction cases in Miami-Dade are filed in the county civil division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, through the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts, which offers e-filing for represented parties. An uncontested case — notice served, complaint filed, tenant does not answer — commonly runs about 3 to 6 weeks from the first notice to the sheriff restoring possession; a contested case can take longer depending on the court’s calendar.
Landlords searching for an eviction attorney near me in Hialeah, Doral, Kendall, or Homestead should know that the statutory notice and timeline apply the same way countywide — there is no local shortcut around the 3-day or 7-day notice, and no local exception to the ban on self-help evictions. Arturo R. Alfonso P.A. has represented Miami-Dade landlords and property owners in English and Spanish for 30 years, and can prepare the notice, the complaint, and the court filings correctly the first time so a technical mistake does not cost weeks of delay.
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