Need to evict your tenant for nonpayment of rent?
Whether you’re a landlord or a tenant, it is important to know what the consequences for nonpayment of rent are. If yo u are a landlord and your tenant has not paid rent, you can sue the tenant for payment of rent or seek to evict the tenant. A common misconception is that landlords can recapture possession of the residence by using physical force as a means of “self-help” without going through the legal process, but Florida treats tenants as “owners” of the property for a certain period of time, usually for the duration of the lease.
To evict a tenant, a landlord must provide the tenant with a formal demand for payment, which is known as a “three-day notice.” A three-day notice must be in writing, must include the exact amount of overdue rent, and must include a demand for the overdue rent or possession of the premises. It is important that the landlord provide the tenant with a three-day notice because the landlord will not be entitled to relief in an eviction lawsuit unless the tenant has been provided with notice. Delivery of the three-day notice can be done personally or by mail. If the notice is mailed, the landlord must add five (5) days to the period. Also, the three-day period does not include weekends or legal holidays.
Some landlords may want to outsmart the system and include a provision in the lease agreement wherein the tenant agrees to waive the three-day notice; however, that is not possible. The lease cannot contain a waiver of the three-day notice.
If you are seeking to evict a tenant for nonpayment or if you are being evicted for nonpayment in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Collier or Lee County Florida, schedule a consultation with the experienced attorneys at EPGDLaw today, located in beautiful Coral Gables. Call us at (786) 837-6787 or e-mail us to schedule a consultation.
THREE-DAY NOTICE
Date …
To …..(name of tenant …
You are notified that you are indebted to me in the sum of (sum) for the rent and use of the premises located at (address), Florida, now occupied by you. That rent was due on (date due), and I demand payment of the rent or possession of the premises within three days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) from the date of delivery of this notice, specifically, on or before (date calculated in accordance with statute)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of this notice has been furnished to the above named tenant on (date/time), by:
1. ( ) Delivery
2. ( ) Posting in a conspicuous place on the premises.
(name of Landlord/Property Manager)
(address)
(phone no)
