You may be wondering: how long does it take to evict someone in Florida? In truth, if an eviction due to non-payment of rent is not contested by the tenant then it could be finished in as little as 2-3 weeks. Otherwise, it could last longer.

Notice for Lease Termination with Legal Cause

Evicting a tenant from a rental property in Jacksonville, Florida can be done for several reasons. According to the law, such reasons include:

• Your tenant has committed a violation of the leasing terms/rental agreement
• Your tenant fails to pay rent, another lease violation under Florida landlord-tenant law
• No existing lease or end of leasing period

Here are some things to remember when sending a lease termination notice in Jacksonville, Florida:

• If the tenant did not pay monthly rent after the due date, a landlord can send a written 3-day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit, also known as a notice of nonpayment, even just a day after the rent is due.
• If the tenant has committed a minor violation of the lease agreement (such as not observing a degree of cleanliness or causing noise), then a landlord can send a 7-day Notice to Cure or Vacate. However, if the rental agreement violation is more severe (such as engaging in illegal activity or causing excessive damage to your property) then a landlord can send a written 7-Day Unconditional Quit Notice to leave. This means the tenant has no chance to remedy their behavior or conduct property repair.

Related: Breaking a Lease in Florida

If the landlord and the tenant have no existing written lease agreement or the rental lease has ended, then the landlord can send a Lease Termination Notice to the tenant. The notice period is dependent upon the time interval of the lease. For example:

• A Month-to-month lease requires a 15-day notice to quit
• A Week-to-Week lease requires a 7-day notice to quit
• A Quarter-to-Quarter lease requires a 30-day notice to quit
• A Year-to-Year lease requires a 60-day notice to quit

Note that if the tenant refuses to leave the rental unit after the lease has terminated, the landlord can begin the eviction lawsuit. Here is what a Florida eviction process timeline may look like.

Serving an Eviction in Florida

When you evict a tenant from your rental unit, Florida eviction laws require you to send your tenant the applicable notices before heading to court and filing for an Action of Possession.

Tenant Eviction Defenses in Florida

According to the law, tenant defenses argue why you (the petitioner) shouldn’t win the case to evict a tenant from the rental. Some tenant defenses they may claim include:

• Your eviction notice contains errors, such as a lack of essential information or no proper notice. This could mean it doesn't detail the specific date a tenant must move out.
• Your Florida eviction lawsuit was retaliatory in nature, meaning you are trying to evict them because they complained to the appropriate government agency about a violation. This could refer to ignoring a building, housing or health code standard set by Florida.
• You are guilty of violating the Fair Housing Act and the Florida Fair Housing Act by discriminating against a tenant.
• You are guilty of negligence of your landlord duties and have failed to maintain your property, which go against the landlord-tenant laws.
• You’re guilty of engaging in self-help eviction procedures. The tenant may complain you had cut off utilities or changed the locks to force them to move out.

Attending Court Hearing

Under Florida Law, a landlord must file a complaint at the applicable County court, used by the court clerk. The County Sheriff will then serve the Summons and Complaint to the tenant, who will be given 5 days to respond.

If the tenant does not contest the eviction, you may file for a Judgment for Possession.

However, if the tenant decides to contest the eviction, the court will ask them to pay the outstanding rent. If there are disputes to the amount to pay, they can determine the correct rent dues there.

Should the tenant fail to appear in court at the appropriate court date, the final judgment will be made in favor of the landlord.

Writ of Possession

The Judge may issue a Writ of Possession. Deciding on the eviction may take several days, and so may the issuing of the Writ of Possession. Afterwards, it is the responsibility of the County Sheriff to serve it to your tenant.

The Writ of Possession represents a final notice to the tenant to pack up their belongings and move out. Under Florida Law, they are given 24 hours to do so before the Sheriff arrives at the property.

Related: Overview of Florida Security Deposit Laws

The Eviction

If the tenant still refuses to leave the premises at this point, the Sheriff will have to forcibly remove them.

Conclusion

This is only a brief outline of how to evict a tenant in Jacksonville, Florida.

If you have specific questions on the eviction process in Florida, hire the services of a qualified Florida attorney. Alternatively, you can seek help from a knowledgeable property management company.

Contact Innovative Property Solutions at (904) 321-9020 to help you sort out the Florida eviction process legally.

Note that this blog should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed attorney in Florida. Laws frequently change, and this post might not be updated at the time of your reading. Please contact us for any questions you have in regards to this content or any other aspect of your property management needs.