What is an eviction?

An eviction is the legal process by which a landlord removes a tenant from his property. To remove a tenant outside of this process is to engage in “self-help.”

What is self-help?

A “self-help” eviction is when a landlord takes it upon himself to remove the tenant and her belongings from the rental property.

Is self-help legal?

Not in Florida. In fact, if – as the landlord – you take it upon yourself to forcibly evict your tenants and/or their belongings from the premises you’ll be liable to them for damages. In other words, you’ve made a bad situation worse for yourself and the tenant.

The eviction process in Florida

What follows is an admittedly oversimplified example with no complications or real hurdles that would cause a delay.

• The first step to any eviction is notice. You must give the tenant notice. How much notice and the manner and form in which you give that notice will be governed by your lease. If your lease is silent as to notice, then Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes will govern.
• If that doesn’t work, then file a lawsuit to evict the tenant.
• Once filed, you need to serve the tenant with the lawsuit. This is commonly accomplished with a process server.
• Not counting the day the tenant was served with the lawsuit, the tenant has five (5) business days to respond to your lawsuit. (This is for an eviction only! If you are suing for damages as well, then the tenant will have 5 business days to respond to the eviction portion, and 20 calendar days to respond to the damages portion, of your lawsuit.)
• If the tenant doesn’t respond, you file a motion for default judgment of eviction and set it for hearing. This is where the judge grants you the eviction without hearing from the tenant. If the tenant does respond, you set it for a hearing before the judge. At the hearing, the judge will determine whether you’re entitled to an eviction or not. (For the purposes of this example, let’s say you got the eviction.)
• With the judgment of eviction in hand, you file for a writ of possession. This is a court order requiring the sheriff’s office to carry out the eviction. The writ will include pertinent details, for example, a contact person for the landlord.
• You now take that writ to the sheriff’s office for execution (i.e., they will carry out the eviction not you).
• Some sheriff’s offices have expedited services for an additional fee. Regardless, from when you hand the writ to the sheriff’s office to when they execute it can vary from one to several weeks.
• The sheriff executes the writ, first, by giving the tenant notice that he will return in 24 hours to forcibly remove the tenant from the property if the tenant is there when he returns. This process includes leaving physical notice on the property (i.e., a document). Even if the sheriff speaks to the tenant, he’ll still leave physical notice.
• Twenty-four hours or more later, the sheriff will coordinate his return with the contact person. This is because, when he returns, he’ll need the landlord to change the locks.
• Upon arrival of the sheriff, if the tenant is still there, the tenant will be removed. If there’s no tenant (or once the tenant is removed), and if there’s personal property on the premises that either belongs to the tenant or you at least know it doesn’t belong to you, then you will be asked by the sheriff to leave the property on the front of the premises for 24 hours.
• Once those 24 hours have expired, you can call a junk removal company to pick up all that’s left on the property.

The property is now yours again, free and clear of that tenant. End of story.

Start to finish, this process can take anywhere from 2 to several months! Each step is a technical hurdle that, if done improperly, may result in delays. That’s why it’s important to use an experienced law firm to navigate the eviction process in your behalf.