How does the eviction process work in Florida?

A Florida eviction starts with a written notice and can only be completed by a court. For unpaid rent the notice gives the tenant 3 days, not counting weekends and court holidays, to pay or leave.¹ If the tenant stays, the landlord files a complaint in county court under a fast "summary" procedure in which the tenant has 5 days to answer.²³ A tenant who wants to raise any defense other than payment must also deposit the rent with the court within 5 days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, or lose the case by default.⁴ After judgment, the sheriff posts a 24-hour notice and then returns the unit to the landlord.⁵ Changing the locks or cutting off utilities without a court order is illegal.⁶ Below: each step, the deadlines, the costs, and what a tenant can do.

Step 1: the notice

How notice is delivered. By mail, by hand, by e-mail where the statute allows it, or, if the tenant is absent, by leaving a copy at the residence.¹¹ A lease cannot waive these notice requirements.¹¹

Partial rent. A landlord who accepts partial rent after posting a 3-day notice must, before filing, give a receipt stating the balance and the agreed date, put the partial payment into the court registry, or post a new 3-day notice for the new amount.¹²

Step 2: the court case

• The landlord files a complaint in the county court of the county where the unit is.² A landlord's agent who is not an attorney may file the complaint but take no other step.²
• The filing fee for a removal-of-tenant action is $180,¹³ plus a $10 charge for issuing the summons.¹⁴
• The case uses the summary procedure: the tenant's answer, with all defenses, is due 5 days after service.³ The court must advance the case on its calendar.²

Step 3: the rent deposit, where most tenants lose

If the tenant raises any defense other than payment, including a defective 3-day notice, the tenant must pay into the court registry the rent alleged in the complaint and the rent that falls due while the case runs.⁴ The summons tells the tenant this.⁴

Deadline: 5 days after service, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.⁴ Instead of paying, the tenant may file a motion asking the court to determine the amount, with documents showing why the alleged amount is wrong.⁴

If neither happens, the tenant waives every defense except payment, and the landlord is entitled to an immediate default judgment and a writ of possession without a further hearing.⁴ Tenants in public housing or with a rent subsidy deposit only their own share of the rent.⁴

Step 4: judgment and the writ of possession

After judgment for the landlord, the clerk issues a writ to the sheriff, who posts a notice on the premises and puts the landlord in possession after 24 hours.⁵ Weekends and holidays do not pause those 24 hours.⁵ When the writ is executed, the landlord may move the tenant's belongings to or near the property line.¹⁵

An appeal must be filed within 30 days of the judgment.¹⁶

What a landlord may not do

A landlord may not, without a court order:⁶

• cut off or interrupt water, heat, electricity, gas or other utilities;
• change the locks or otherwise block the tenant's access;
• remove doors, locks, windows or walls except for repair;
• remove the tenant's belongings, except after surrender, abandonment or a lawful eviction.

A landlord who does any of these owes the tenant actual and consequential damages or three months' rent, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney's fees.¹⁷

Defenses a tenant may raise

• The landlord failed to maintain the unit as section 83.51(1) requires, provided the tenant gave the landlord 7 days' written notice of the problem and of the intention to withhold rent. Proven, this is a complete defense to an eviction for unpaid rent; the court then decides by how much the rent is reduced.¹⁸
• Retaliation, and any other legal or equitable defense.¹⁹
• A defective notice. The landlord is first given a chance to correct a deficient notice or complaint before the case is dismissed.¹⁹

Every defense other than payment requires the rent deposit described in step 3.⁴

Who pays the lawyers?

The party who wins a case about the lease or the landlord-tenant statute may recover reasonable attorney's fees and court costs from the party who loses, and a lease cannot waive this.²⁰ The winner of the possession case is entitled to judgment for costs.²¹ Before you fight a case you are likely to lose, count that cost too.

Do I need a lawyer for an eviction in Florida?

The statute does not require one, and the deadlines leave little time to find one: 5 days to answer and to deposit the rent.³⁴ Whether you can win usually turns on three questions you can check yourself: was the notice correct, is the amount claimed right, and do you have a defense other than payment. A lawyer is worth calling when you have a real defense, such as serious repair problems you reported in writing, retaliation, or an illegal lockout,¹⁸¹⁷ because the fee-shifting rule then works for you.²⁰

Before you pay for a lawyer, check your case

Tell Savion what notice you received and when. It reads Florida's landlord-tenant statute against your dates and tells you:

• whether the notice period was counted correctly, excluding weekends and court holidays;
• the exact date your answer and rent deposit are due;
• a first draft of your answer, or of a motion to determine the rent, for you to review.

If your case does need a lawyer, Savion writes a one-page summary of the facts and the law, so that a free consultation is spent on your case rather than on retelling it.

Savion gives legal information, not legal advice. The statements above are based on the statutory text listed under References, as retrieved on 25 October 2026. Court procedure is also governed by the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and local practice. For your specific situation, read those sections or speak to a Florida-licensed attorney.

References

1. Fla. Stat. § 83.56(3) (termination for nonpayment of rent after a 3-day written demand, excluding Saturday, Sunday and court-observed legal holidays; form of the notice). Official text: The Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine, leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩²

2. Fla. Stat. § 83.59(2) (complaint for removal of a tenant in the county court; a non-attorney agent may only file the initial complaint; summary procedure of § 51.011; cause advanced on the calendar). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Fla. Stat. § 51.011(1) (summary procedure: all defenses in the answer, filed within 5 days after service of process). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Fla. Stat. § 83.60(2) (tenant raising any defense other than payment must pay accrued and accruing rent into the court registry, or move to determine the amount, within 5 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays; otherwise absolute waiver of defenses and immediate default judgment; subsidized tenants deposit their own share). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

5. Fla. Stat. § 83.62(1) (writ of possession; landlord put in possession after 24 hours' notice conspicuously posted; weekends and legal holidays do not stay the period). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. Fla. Stat. § 83.67(1), (2) and (5) (prohibited practices: interrupting utilities, preventing access including by changing locks, removing doors, locks, roof, walls or windows except for repair, removing the tenant's property except after surrender, abandonment or lawful eviction). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩²

7. Fla. Stat. § 83.56(2)(b) (7-day notice to cure a curable noncompliance; examples; recurrence within 12 months). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

8. Fla. Stat. § 83.56(2)(a) (7-day notice of termination for noncompliance not subject to cure, or repeated within 12 months of a written warning). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

9. Fla. Stat. § 83.57(3) (month-to-month tenancy: not less than 30 days' notice before the end of a monthly period). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

10. Fla. Stat. § 83.57(4) (week-to-week tenancy: not less than 7 days' notice before the end of a weekly period). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

11. Fla. Stat. § 83.56(4) (delivery of notices by mail, delivery, e-mail under § 83.505, or leaving a copy at the residence if the tenant is absent; notice requirements may not be waived in the rental agreement). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩²

12. Fla. Stat. § 83.56(5)(a) (acceptance of partial rent after a 3-day notice: receipt, registry deposit, or new notice). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

13. Fla. Stat. § 34.041(1)(a)8. (county court filing fee for a removal of tenant action: $180). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

14. Fla. Stat. § 34.041(1)(d) (service charge of $10 for issuing a summons). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

15. Fla. Stat. § 83.62(2) (removal of personal property to or near the property line when the writ is executed). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

16. Fla. Stat. § 51.011(5) (notice of appeal within 30 days from rendition of the judgment). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩

17. Fla. Stat. § 83.67(6) (liability for actual and consequential damages or 3 months' rent, whichever is greater, plus costs including attorney's fees). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩²

18. Fla. Stat. § 83.60(1)(b) (landlord's material noncompliance with § 83.51(1), after the tenant's 7-day written notice, is a complete defense to an action for possession based on nonpayment; rent reduction). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩²

19. Fla. Stat. § 83.60(1)(a) (any legal or equitable defense, including retaliatory conduct under § 83.64; landlord given an opportunity to cure a deficiency in the notice or pleadings before dismissal). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩²

20. Fla. Stat. § 83.48 (prevailing party may recover reasonable attorney fees and court costs; right may not be waived in a lease). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩ ↩²

21. Fla. Stat. § 83.59(4) (prevailing party entitled to judgment for costs). Official text: leg.state.fl.us. Accessed October 25, 2026. ↩