Business Law 101 / EVICTIONS

By Albert L. Kelley, Esq.

The landlord-tenant statutes in Florida are strictly construed by the Courts. This means that they must be followed to the letter. Failure to comply with the statutes can result in a loss of rights by either the landlord or the tenant. Nowhere is this more obvious than in a breach of the lease. Florida is deemed a pro-Landlord state. This does not mean that the Courts will side with the Landlord; it means that the statutes are written to be more favorable to the Landlord than the Tenant. This means that if the Landlord follows the statutes properly, they will be likely to win an eviction action.

When the tenant fails to pay rent on time, or if the tenant fails to complete any of the duties he is required to perform under the lease (such as maintaining the property), he is said to be in breach (or default) of the lease. While we discussed contractual breaches quite some time ago, a breach of a lease is handled in a different manner. Once the tenant is in breach, the landlord must provide to the tenant a written notice that they are in default and give them an appropriate time to cure the default. The time to cure depends on what the default is. When the tenant has failed to pay rent on time, the period to cure is three days from the time he receives the Notice. When the breach is any other obligation, the period to cure is 10 days (There are times when the landlord is not required to give the tenant an opportunity to cure a default. As these issues are case specific, I would recommend consulting with a lawyer for specific case situations).

For the purposes of this article (and next week’s article as well) we will use the following scenario: Tenant, Bob Smith, has a three year lease with Landlord John Jones at $1,000 per month, starting January 1, 2016. The tenant failed to make his monthly payment for March 1, 2016.

At any time after the tenant fails to make his monthly rent payment, the landlord may provide him with a three day notice to pay rent or vacate. The notice may be handed to the tenant directly, or if the tenant is not at the property, the landlord may tape the notice to the door of the property. Although this Notice does not have to be in any specific form, it must contain certain information according to the statute. If the Notice does not comply with the legal requirements it will be considered invalid and the landlord will be required to give the tenant another notice before proceeding to eviction. Why is this a problem? During the three day period, if the tenant tenders the rent to the landlord, the landlord is obligated to accept the rent. Many landlords simply want to get rid of tenants that do not pay on time. So long as the rent is paid before the three day period expires, the landlord cannot evict the tenant for non-payment of rent. If on March 2, John Jones hands a 3-day notice to Bob Smith, Jones must wait until March 7 for the rent as the three day period does not include weekends or holidays. By March 8, if Smith has still not paid rent, Jones can file an eviction action in Court.

Al Kelley is a Florida business law attorney located in Key West and previously taught business law, personnel law and labor law at St. Leo University. He is also the author of “Basics of Business Law” and “Basics of Florida’s Small Claims Court” (Absolutely Amazing e-Books). This article is being offered as a public service and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about legal issues, you should confer with a licensed Florida attorney.

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