Florida eviction rules for tenants

If you get an eviction notice

1. Read it closely: the kind of notice, the amount, the dates and how it was delivered. Use the timeline below.
2. Don't move out or stop paying because of a notice alone. Only a court can order an eviction; the notice is the first step.
3. Get free legal help now. Legal aid and the court's self-help center can check whether the notice is valid.
4. If you are served with court papers, respond by the deadline and go to every hearing. Missing one can mean losing by default.
5. Keep copies of the notice, your lease, rent receipts, texts and photos.

Eviction in Florida

Notice for unpaid rent

3-day written notice to pay or leave. The 3 days do not count Saturday, Sunday or court-observed legal holidays.

Notice for a lease violation

7-day notice to cure for fixable violations (for example unauthorized pets, guests or vehicles, or not keeping the unit clean). If repeated within 12 months, the landlord can file without another notice. For serious violations (intentional damage, continued unreasonable disturbance, fraudulent entry), a 7-day notice to vacate with no chance to cure.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Landlord or tenant: at least 30 days' written notice before the end of a monthly period. Week-to-week: 7 days. Quarter-to-quarter: 30 days. Year-to-year: 60 days. Fla. Stat. § 83.57. For a fixed-term lease, a lease clause requiring you to give notice before moving out at the end may not require more than 60 days (§ 83.575).

Time to respond to an eviction lawsuit

5 days after you are served, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. To raise any defense other than having paid, you must also pay the rent claimed into the court registry (or file a motion to determine rent) within those 5 days, or the landlord can get an immediate default judgment. Fla. Stat. §§ 51.011, 83.60(2).

Lockouts and utility shutoffs

Yes. The landlord may not cut off utilities (water, heat, electricity, gas, elevator, garbage, refrigeration), change the locks, use a bootlock, remove doors or windows, or remove your belongings, except after surrender, abandonment or a lawful eviction. You can recover your actual and consequential damages or 3 months' rent, whichever is more, plus costs and attorney fees. Fla. Stat. § 83.67.

Court self-help

The court's eviction self-help page

Law

Fla. Stat. §§ 83.56, 83.57, 83.59, 83.60, 83.67

Eviction notice timeline for Florida

Got a notice from your landlord? Enter the kind of notice and the day you got it to see the dates that follow from your state's rule, what your landlord may not do, and where to get free help fast.

Where to get free help in Florida

• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: Landlord-Tenant · 1-800-435-7352
• Florida Statutes ch. 83 (official text, Florida Senate)
• Florida Law Help (statewide legal aid directory)

Retaliation in Florida

The landlord may not raise rent, cut services, or file or threaten eviction mainly to retaliate because you complained in good faith to a code agency, joined a tenant organization, complained to the landlord under § 83.56(1), or used fair housing rights, among other things. It is a defense to eviction. It does not apply if the landlord proves good cause, such as nonpayment. No presumption period. Fla. Stat. § 83.64.

Rent increases and rent control in Florida

Notice of a rent increase

No statute sets a rent-increase notice period. For a month-to-month tenancy, the landlord would need to end the tenancy with 30 days' notice to change terms (§ 83.57). Local governments cannot add their own notice rules (§ 83.425).

Rent control

No statewide rent cap. Cities and counties may not adopt any rent control measure (Fla. Stat. § 125.0103(2), as amended 2023). All landlord-tenant regulation is preempted to the state (§ 83.425).

Questions about eviction in Florida

More for Florida renters

• All Florida tenant rights
• Security deposit: Florida
• Repairs: Florida
• Eviction notice periods by state
• Guide: what to do if you get an eviction notice

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