The eviction process in Florida runs through the county court. A landlord has to serve the correct written notice, wait out the notice period, file a lawsuit if the tenant stays or doesn’t pay, win a judgment for possession, and then have the sheriff execute a writ before anyone can be physically removed. Skipping steps is not an option. Changing locks, cutting utilities, or hauling a tenant’s belongings to the curb without a court order exposes the landlord to significant damages. Even a clean, uncontested case usually takes several weeks from the first notice to the day the sheriff posts the writ.
Grounds and the Notice That Goes With Each
Florida law requires a recognized legal reason before any eviction can start, and the reason determines the notice.
Nonpayment of Rent
When a tenant misses rent, the landlord serves a written three-day notice demanding payment or surrender of the property. The three days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, so a notice served on a Wednesday before a holiday weekend gives the tenant more calendar time than the number alone suggests.1Justia Law. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement If the tenant pays in full within that window, the case ends there.
The notice has to list only the actual rent owed. Lumping in late fees, utilities, or other charges is a common mistake that gets cases thrown out before they really start.
Curable Lease Violations
For lease violations the tenant can fix — unauthorized pets, extra occupants, parking issues — the landlord delivers a seven-day notice to cure. It must describe the specific problem and warn that the lease will be terminated if the tenant doesn’t correct it within seven days. If the same type of violation happens again within 12 months of the first warning, the landlord can move straight to eviction without offering another chance to cure.1Justia Law. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement
Incurable Violations
Some conduct is serious enough that the tenant gets no chance to fix anything. In those cases the landlord delivers a seven-day unconditional notice to vacate. Intentional destruction of property, repeated disturbances after a prior warning, and certain criminal activity fall into this category.1Justia Law. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement Documentation matters here. Police reports, photographs, and written complaints from other tenants strengthen the case if it ends up before a judge.
Ending a Month-to-Month Tenancy
When there’s no fixed-term lease, or the lease has expired and rent is being paid month to month, either side can end the tenancy with at least 30 days’ written notice before the end of a monthly period.2Justia Law. Florida Code 83.57 – Termination of Tenancy Without Specific Term The landlord doesn’t need to give a reason. But if the tenant stays past the notice period, the landlord still has to go through court.
Getting the Notice Right
Florida law prescribes specific language for each notice type, and courts expect landlords to follow those forms closely.1Justia Law. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement A notice that omits required language, overstates the amount owed, or gives the wrong number of days is a defense the tenant can raise. Common problems:
- Three-day notice (nonpayment): must demand payment of the specific rent owed or surrender, with the three-day clock excluding weekends and legal holidays.
- Seven-day notice to cure: must describe the violation and warn of termination if not fixed in seven days.
- Seven-day unconditional notice: must describe the violation and state the lease is terminated, with no cure opportunity.
- Thirty-day notice (month-to-month): must be delivered at least 30 days before the end of a monthly period.
Landlords who draft their own notices without checking the statutory requirements are gambling with the whole case.
Filing the Lawsuit
If the notice period expires and the tenant hasn’t paid, cured, or left, the landlord files an eviction complaint — formally an “action for possession” — in the county court where the property sits. The complaint identifies the property, states the grounds, and shows that the required notice was served and ignored. The lease and the notice get attached.
Filing fees depend on what the landlord is asking for. A straightforward eviction seeking only possession runs $185. Adding a damages claim for unpaid rent between $2,500 and $15,000 raises it to $300.3Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County. County Civil Court Fees Amounts vary slightly by county.
Once the complaint is filed, the court issues a summons. It can be delivered in person, posted conspicuously on the property, or sent by certified mail. A tenant who was never properly served can get the case dismissed, so this step rewards care.
The Tenant’s Five Days and the Court Registry Trap
After being served, the tenant has five business days (weekends and legal holidays don’t count) to file a written response with the court. This is where many tenants lose cases without realizing it. If the tenant raises any defense other than “I already paid the rent,” the tenant also has to deposit all rent owed into the court registry within those same five days.4Justia Law. Florida Code 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession
The consequences are harsh. A tenant who doesn’t respond at all faces a default judgment and immediate loss of possession. A tenant who files a response but doesn’t deposit the rent waives every defense except the claim that rent was already paid.4Justia Law. Florida Code 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession If the tenant disputes the amount of rent demanded, a motion to determine the correct amount has to be filed within that same five-day window. Tenants in public housing or receiving rent subsidies only have to deposit the portion of rent they personally owe under their program.
The Hearing and the Tenant’s Defenses
Once the tenant responds and deposits rent, the court schedules a hearing. These cases move fast. Both sides present evidence, and the judge decides whether the eviction is justified.
The strongest defense is usually that the landlord failed to maintain the property. If the tenant gave written notice of serious maintenance problems at least seven days before withholding rent, the landlord’s failure to fix those problems is a complete defense to an eviction for nonpayment.4Justia Law. Florida Code 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession The court can reduce the rent to reflect the diminished value of the unit during that time.
Other defenses include a defective notice, improper service, retaliatory eviction (the landlord acting against the tenant for complaining to a government agency, joining a tenant organization, or requesting repairs), and discriminatory eviction based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability under the federal Fair Housing Act.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.64 – Retaliatory Conduct6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices A procedural error in the notice or complaint doesn’t always kill the case; Florida law gives the landlord a chance to fix defects before dismissal.4Justia Law. Florida Code 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession
If the judge rules for the landlord, the court enters a judgment for possession. Either party can appeal within 30 days, which can extend the timeline considerably.
The Writ of Possession
After a judgment, the clerk issues a writ of possession directing the sheriff to remove the tenant. The sheriff posts the writ on the property, and the tenant has 24 hours from that posting to leave. Weekends and legal holidays do not pause the 24-hour clock.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.62 – Restoration of Possession to Landlord
Once the sheriff executes the writ, the landlord or their agent can move any personal property the tenant left behind to the property line. The landlord can ask the sheriff to stay on-site while locks are changed and belongings are removed, at a reasonable hourly rate the landlord pays. Neither the sheriff nor the landlord is liable for property left behind after the writ is executed.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.62 – Restoration of Possession to Landlord
What a Landlord Cannot Do
Florida law flatly prohibits self-help eviction. No matter how far behind a tenant is on rent, the landlord cannot:
- Shut off water, electricity, gas, or any other utility to pressure the tenant into leaving — even if the landlord pays the bill.
- Change the locks or add a padlock to block the tenant’s access.
- Remove doors, windows, or the tenant’s belongings outside of a lawful eviction, surrender, or abandonment.
A landlord who does any of these things is liable for actual damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus the tenant’s court costs and attorney’s fees. Repeat violations trigger separate damage awards for each incident, and a court can order the landlord to restore access immediately.8Justia Law. Florida Code 83.67 – Prohibited Practices The only legal route runs through the courthouse.
After the Tenant Is Out: The Security Deposit
Eviction doesn’t erase the deposit rules. If the landlord intends to return the full deposit, the money has to be sent within 15 days after the tenant vacates. If the landlord plans to claim part or all of it for unpaid rent or damages, a written notice must go out by certified mail within 30 days of the tenant’s departure, itemizing each amount claimed and the reason for it. Miss the 30-day deadline and the landlord forfeits the right to claim anything from the deposit. The tenant then has 15 days after receiving the notice to object in writing; silence lets the landlord apply the deposit as claimed.9Justia Law. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent, Duty of Landlord and Tenant
Situations With Extra Rules
Some tenants and some properties come with protections that sit on top of the standard process.
Active-duty servicemembers. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a landlord cannot evict a servicemember or their dependents from a primary residence without a court order if the monthly rent is below an annually adjusted threshold ($9,812.12 in 2024, which covers most residential rentals). A servicemember can also request a stay of at least 90 days if military service has materially affected their ability to pay, and the court must grant it. Evicting a protected servicemember without a court order carries federal criminal penalties, including fines and up to one year in prison.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress Florida separately allows servicemembers with qualifying orders — permanent change of station, deployment more than 35 miles away, or involuntary discharge — to end a lease with 30 days’ written notice and a copy of the orders, owing only prorated rent through the termination date.11Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.682 – Termination of Rental Agreement by a Servicemember
Assistance animals. A no-pet policy is not grounds to evict a tenant whose animal is an assistance animal under the Fair Housing Act. An assistance animal works, assists, or provides emotional support that alleviates the effects of a person’s disability, and it isn’t a pet for these purposes. The landlord cannot charge a pet deposit or pet fee for one, and must grant a request to keep one unless a narrow exception applies.12U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals A tenant served with a no-pet eviction notice should notify the landlord in writing that the animal is an assistance animal and provide supporting documentation if the need isn’t obvious.
Federally assisted housing. Tenants in public housing and certain HUD programs get additional safeguards, including, as of early 2026, a written 30-day notice before an eviction for nonpayment of rent, with an itemized rent balance and information about income recertification. Paying the full amount owed inside that 30-day window stops the eviction. Covered programs include public housing and Section 8 project-based rental assistance, though Housing Choice Vouchers and project-based vouchers are not covered by this particular rule. Tenants in subsidized housing can only be evicted for serious or repeated lease violations, certain criminal activity, or other good cause, and cannot be evicted because they are victims of domestic violence; the landlord can proceed against an offending household member while leaving the victim and other family members in place.