A Pinellas County court recently dismissed a Florida eviction action brought by a mobile home owner against its occupant for deficiencies, which included: failing to prove ownership of real property (the owner claimed that his mobile home was real property and failed to allege that he owned the lot that the mobile was situated on),…

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On appeal from Miami-Dade County Court, the 11th Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County reinforced the strict construction and interpretation of Florida Eviction Statute Section 83.60(2), stating that failure to pay money into the court registry constitutes grounds for immediate default and waiver of a defendant’ defenses. The Circuit Court opined that the defendant’s numerous filings…

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Motions by Property Managers are Invalid in Florida Evictions. Pursuant to a Florida Bar Advisory Opinion Regarding Legal Representation of Landlord’s a court in Orange County, Florida ordered a property managers motions stricken when it was determined that the property manager did not own the premises in question.  The court stated that a property manager…

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If you seek money damages in your eviction action personal service is required for the court to have jurisdiction to make an award. In Miami-Dade a court dismissed an eviction complaint which sought possession and damages as moot when it was determined that the defendant had vacated the premises prior to the final judgment.  Service…

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Non-lawyers and non-attorney eviction services may be at a disadvantage when it comes to the intricacies of Florida landlord/tenant law. Case in point, in the ruling below the Broward Small Claims Court was limited to awarding only $5,000.00 dollars in damages due to jurisdictional bounds.  It is important to accurately estimate your damages prior to…

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Improper Summons & Due Process in Florida Eviction On appeal of a landlord/tenant eviction matter in Orange County Florida, the Circuit court held that strict compliance with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure form 1.923 was required as a condition precedent for a court to obtain personal jurisdiction over a defendant in a Florida eviction…

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With the appropriate language, and acquiescence by a tenant, a landlord may be able to draft language into a commercial lease, thus waiving the “3-Day” notice requirement of Florida Statutes Section 83.20(2). In a recent ruling out of the 4th DCA the court concluded that an express, agreed upon commercial lease provision, to waive the statutory notice…

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Shutting Off Utilities Costs Landlord Triple in Florida Eviction A recent opinion out of the 17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County questioned whether a landlord was liable for treble damages under Florida’s constructive eviction statute. The court held that pursuant to statute, direct or indirect action by a landlord, which resulted in termination…

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