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. Only court-observed holidays count as legal holidays here. So a notice delivered on a Thursday runs Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, and the earliest day to file is Wednesday. Section 83.56(4) allows the notice to be mailed, delivered by hand, e-mailed under § 83.505 if the tenant agreed to that in writing, or left at the residence if the tenant is absent; it does not say when a mailed notice counts as delivered, so many landlords hand-deliver or post the notice to avoid a dispute over the date.
For lease violations, the notice period is 7 days, but the type differs. Under § 83.56(2)(b), a curable violation (the statute’s examples include unauthorized pets, guests, or vehicles, unauthorized parking, and failing to keep the unit clean and sanitary) gets a 7-day notice to cure. Fix it and the tenancy continues, though if the same kind of violation recurs within 12 months after the notice, the landlord can file for eviction without giving another chance to cure. Under § 83.56(2)(a), a violation the tenant should not be given a chance to cure (the statute’s examples include intentionally destroying, damaging, or misusing the landlord’s or other tenants’ property, and a subsequent or continued unreasonable disturbance) gets a 7-day notice to vacate with no opportunity to fix it. Filing suit before the full notice period has run can get an eviction case 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 (about $185 under the 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 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, and lets the landlord seek an immediate default; 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. 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 prohibits cutting off or interrupting a tenant’s utilities, blocking access to the unit (including by changing the locks), removing outside doors, locks, roof, walls, or windows except for maintenance or repair, and removing a tenant’s belongings except after surrender, abandonment, or a lawful eviction.
The penalty is meant to sting: a tenant subjected to a self-help eviction can recover actual and consequential damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus costs, including 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 the Court and Comptroller, and filings go through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. An uncontested case (notice served, complaint filed, tenant does not answer) can be over in a matter of weeks; a contested case can take longer depending on the hearing and the court’s calendar.
Whether the property is in Hialeah, Doral, Kendall, or Homestead, the statutory notices and deadlines 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 and check them against the statute before anything is served or filed. For how the firm handles a case from either side, see landlord-tenant and eviction representation in Miami.
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