When you have a tenant who isn’t paying rent, the eviction process in Florida can help you collect the past due amount or remove the tenant from the property. It’s important to act quickly and to enforce all of the rent collection procedures that are in your lease. The longer you wait to address the late rent, the more money and time you stand to lose.

Three Day Notice

Your first step is to serve your tenant with a Three Day Notice. This will tell the tenants that they have three days to pay what is owed, or they need to leave the property. If your tenant does not respond or pay within the three days, you need to take the next steps. Some landlords will want to avoid eviction and are willing to set up a payment arrangement with the tenant. If you do this, make sure you have it documented in case you need to continue with the eviction and find yourself in court.

Court Hearing

If you’re unable to work anything out with your tenant, your next step is to file a Complaint and Summons at the courthouse. The court will schedule a hearing date and you can serve the summons on the tenants yourself or hire a process server to do it. In some cases, the tenants will not bother to show up to the court hearing. If this happens, you will win the judgment immediately. If the tenants do show up, they will have the opportunity to contest the eviction. Make sure you bring your lease and any documentation you have to show that the tenant has not paid rent.

Writ of Possession

When you can show that the tenant has not paid rent and is in violation of the lease agreement, the judge will give you a judgment in your favor and you can apply for a Writ of Possession from the clerk of the court. This requires the tenants to move out of your property within 24 hours. If the tenants refuse to leave within that 24-hour period, you will need to contact the sheriff and have them and their belongings forcibly removed.

The eviction process is never pleasant, but it is sometimes necessary to protect your cash flow and your property. If you have any questions or you need help removing a non-paying tenant from your home, please contact us at Everest Realty.

Author

Terry Mrochko

As a top producing Realtor and Property Manager; Terry specializes in sales, extensive construction homes, rentals, REO’s, short sales, and all aspects of Real Estate. After graduating the University of Michigan with a master in MBA, Terry continued his endeavor and now has over 15+ years of experience in the Real Estate world. If there is anything that has to do with Real Estate and sales, you can always be sure of Terry to provide important, specialized knowledge.