Use an actual attorney’s office to do your eviction
There are plenty of evictions forms services and non-attorney services in the marketplace that offer eviction services. Most will prepare forms and require you to do the timeconsuming and bothersome task of filing. Some will mail your forms to the courthouse and file in your name. Either way, you’re the one they call when there is a problem, like your tenant filed an answer or the judge requires a hearing. Then they suggest you call an attorney. Nobody but a Florida licensed attorney can prepare, sign and file pleadings on your behalf. Trust your evictions to an attorney. Do it right the first time, and you won’t have to do it again.
FAQ: Do you represent tenants, or just landlords?
Overview: How the Eviction Process Works
Evictions, whether residential or commercial, is the only legal way to remove a tenant from a property for nonpayment of rent, breach of a material condition of the lease, or due to the termination of a lease. The evictions process can be broken into two distinct parts:
Termination of the lease by the expiration of a proper notice (ex. three day notice), the filing of a summons, cover page and complaint for possession of the property along with the attached exhibits including the lease and notice. The complaint is served on the tenants by a process server and are commanded by the summons to file a response within 5 days, not including weekends or holidays, or risk a default. If the tenant moves out, the case can be dismissed without taking any further action. However, if you want to ensure your tenant isn’t allowed back in the property you may decide to continue and obtain a writ of possession.
If the tenant doesn’t move out, or you want to make sure he stays out, the only legal way to retake possession is to apply for and receive a writ of possession. In this step a default package is submitted to the court including a motion for default, proposed final judgment and the writ of possession. Once the judge signs the final judgment, the clerk will issue the writ of possession and it is sent to the local law enforcement agency. Once law enforcement gets the writ they will post a copy of the writ along with a notice requiring the tenant to vacate the premises within 24 hours. Thereafter, law enforcement will make an appointment to come back to the property, and if the tenant is still in the premises, they will remove the tenant and return possession to the landlord or their agent. At this time the landlord should change the locks.
FAQ: What if my tenant moves out during the eviction?
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