Terminating rental agreements and Evictions for violations of rules and leases

I just had an eviction hearing.   I represented the landlord, who was trying to evict a tenant for non payment of rent, and also to evict the tenant for not following the lease and the rules of the mobile home park.  In a  nutshell, the lease and the rules prohibited pets, the tenant had dogs; the tenant was supposed to keep the premises clean and sanitary and free from vermin; they had trash and roaches, and they were not supposed to have anyone who was not on the lease staying there; the tenant supposedly had someone living there.

 

All of which was a violation of the lease.  You would think you could evict someone for not following the rules and the lease.

Not so fast, though.  In order to evict someone in Florida for violation of a lease or not following the rules you MUST follow the law.  And in this case the landlord didn’t really follow the law;  the landlord had filed this case on her own, had attended one hearing, and then hired me to try to ‘fix’ it.

 

The problem is, the landlord had given the tenant plenty of ‘verbal’ warnings and had sort of scrawled a couple of notes saying the tenant was in violation.  That, unfortunately, is not good enough. Florida has a very specific law that sets out exactly what a landlord has to do to evict someone for violation of a lease or rules.  The full text of the statute is below: but I want to focus on the notice that must be given.

There are two situations; one is if the violation is ‘curable’, or fixable; this would include such things as having pets, having trash in the yard, having someone who is not on the lease living there, or unauthorized parking.   You must give them a written notice in the following form

You are hereby notified that   (cite the noncompliance)  . Demand is hereby made that you remedy the noncompliance within 7 days of receipt of this notice or your lease shall be deemed terminated and you shall vacate the premises upon such termination. If this same conduct or conduct of a similar nature is repeated within 12 months, your tenancy is subject to termination without further warning and without your being given an opportunity to cure the noncompliance.

 

If the violation of the lease is something that should not be allowed to cure, such as destruction of property,  then you must give them notice in the following form:

You are advised that your lease is terminated effective immediately. You shall have 7 days from the delivery of this letter to vacate the premises. This action is taken because   (cite the noncompliance)  .

 

When you provide the notice, you should address it to the tenant, list the address of the rented premises, describe the violation and preferably cite to the specific portion of the lease or the rules that are being violated;   date the notice, sign it, put in your name and address and phone number for them to contact you and either hand deliver it or post it on the front door of the premises.   You should also note on it whether  you hand delivered it and to who, or posted it. If you post it, then it is a good idea to take a cellphone picture of the notice posted on the door. Keep a copy of the signed notice.

 

In other words, for a curable violation you would say

Date 12/15/2020

TO John Tenant, 123 Main St. Apt. 3,  Mosquito Bay Florida 34456

You are hereby notified that You are in violation of paragraph 7 of your lease, which prohibits pets; you are keeping a dog,. Demand is hereby made that you remedy the noncompliance within 7 days of receipt of this notice or your lease shall be deemed terminated and you shall vacate the premises upon such termination. If this same conduct or conduct of a similar nature is repeated within 12 months, your tenancy is subject to termination without further warning and without your being given an opportunity to cure the noncompliance.

Premises address: 123 Main St. Apt. 3,  Mosquito Bay Florida 34456

Signed, Lucy Landlord

123 Main St. Apt 1, Mosquito Bay FL 34456, 352 753 1234

Delivered by Lucy Landlord on 12/15/2020 by hand to John Tenant.

 

I realize this seems complicated and it kind of is; and it may seem unfair to require a landlord to jump through these hoops but this is what the law is.  You must give written notice to terminate a lease and it should be in the form prescribed by statute;  if you file an eviction without doing this the judge might refuse to allow the eviction.

 

If you are in or near The Villages and are a Landlord, I offer free consultations on evictions.   I’ll talk with you and figure out what sort of notice you need to give.  This is one of those things that need to be done right; doing it right isn’t that complicated but it does need to be done right, the first time; if you don’t do it right then you might not get your eviction.

 

Full Text of Statute- worth reading by landlords.

83.56 Termination of rental agreement.—

(1) If the landlord materially fails to comply with s. 83.51(1) or material provisions of the rental agreement within 7 days after delivery of written notice by the tenant specifying the noncompliance and indicating the intention of the tenant to terminate the rental agreement by reason thereof, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement. If the failure to comply with s. 83.51(1) or material provisions of the rental agreement is due to causes beyond the control of the landlord and the landlord has made and continues to make every reasonable effort to correct the failure to comply, the rental agreement may be terminated or altered by the parties, as follows:

(a) If the landlord’s failure to comply renders the dwelling unit untenantable and the tenant vacates, the tenant shall not be liable for rent during the period the dwelling unit remains uninhabitable.

(b) If the landlord’s failure to comply does not render the dwelling unit untenantable and the tenant remains in occupancy, the rent for the period of noncompliance shall be reduced by an amount in proportion to the loss of rental value caused by the noncompliance.

(2) If the tenant materially fails to comply with s. 83.52 or material provisions of the rental agreement, other than a failure to pay rent, or reasonable rules or regulations, the landlord may:

(a) If such noncompliance is of a nature that the tenant should not be given an opportunity to cure it or if the noncompliance constitutes a subsequent or continuing noncompliance within 12 months of a written warning by the landlord of a similar violation, deliver a written notice to the tenant specifying the noncompliance and the landlord’s intent to terminate the rental agreement by reason thereof. Examples of noncompliance which are of a nature that the tenant should not be given an opportunity to cure include, but are not limited to, destruction, damage, or misuse of the landlord’s or other tenants’ property by intentional act or a subsequent or continued unreasonable disturbance. In such event, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement, and the tenant shall have 7 days from the date that the notice is delivered to vacate the premises. The notice shall be in substantially the following form:

You are advised that your lease is terminated effective immediately. You shall have 7 days from the delivery of this letter to vacate the premises. This action is taken because   (cite the noncompliance)  .

 

(b) If such noncompliance is of a nature that the tenant should be given an opportunity to cure it, deliver a written notice to the tenant specifying the noncompliance, including a notice that, if the noncompliance is not corrected within 7 days from the date that the written notice is delivered, the landlord shall terminate the rental agreement by reason thereof. Examples of such noncompliance include, but are not limited to, activities in contravention of the lease or this part such as having or permitting unauthorized pets, guests, or vehicles; parking in an unauthorized manner or permitting such parking; or failing to keep the premises clean and sanitary. If such noncompliance recurs within 12 months after notice, an eviction action may commence without delivering a subsequent notice pursuant to paragraph (a) or this paragraph. The notice shall be in substantially the following form:

You are hereby notified that   (cite the noncompliance)  . Demand is hereby made that you remedy the noncompliance within 7 days of receipt of this notice or your lease shall be deemed terminated and you shall vacate the premises upon such termination. If this same conduct or conduct of a similar nature is repeated within 12 months, your tenancy is subject to termination without further warning and without your being given an opportunity to cure the noncompliance.

 

(3) If the tenant fails to pay rent when due and the default continues for 3 days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, after delivery of written demand by the landlord for payment of the rent or possession of the premises, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement. Legal holidays for the purpose of this section shall be court-observed holidays only. The 3-day notice shall contain a statement in substantially the following form:

You are hereby notified that you are indebted to me in the sum of   dollars for the rent and use of the premises   (address of leased premises, including county)  , Florida, now occupied by you and that I demand payment of the rent or possession of the premises within 3 days (excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays) from the date of delivery of this notice, to wit: on or before the   day of  ,   (year)  .

 

(landlord’s name, address and phone number)

 

(4) The delivery of the written notices required by subsections (1), (2), and (3) shall be by mailing or delivery of a true copy thereof or, if the tenant is absent from the premises, by leaving a copy thereof at the residence. The notice requirements of subsections (1), (2), and (3) may not be waived in the lease.

(5)(a) If the landlord accepts rent with actual knowledge of a noncompliance by the tenant or accepts performance by the tenant of any other provision of the rental agreement that is at variance with its provisions, or if the tenant pays rent with actual knowledge of a noncompliance by the landlord or accepts performance by the landlord of any other provision of the rental agreement that is at variance with its provisions, the landlord or tenant waives his or her right to terminate the rental agreement or to bring a civil action for that noncompliance, but not for any subsequent or continuing noncompliance. However, a landlord does not waive the right to terminate the rental agreement or to bring a civil action for that noncompliance by accepting partial rent for the period. If partial rent is accepted after posting the notice for nonpayment, the landlord must:

1. Provide the tenant with a receipt stating the date and amount received and the agreed upon date and balance of rent due before filing an action for possession;

2. Place the amount of partial rent accepted from the tenant in the registry of the court upon filing the action for possession; or

3. Post a new 3-day notice reflecting the new amount due.

(b) Any tenant who wishes to defend against an action by the landlord for possession of the unit for noncompliance of the rental agreement or of relevant statutes must comply with s. 83.60(2). The court may not set a date for mediation or trial unless the provisions of s. 83.60(2) have been met, but must enter a default judgment for removal of the tenant with a writ of possession to issue immediately if the tenant fails to comply with s. 83.60(2).

(c) This subsection does not apply to that portion of rent subsidies received from a local, state, or national government or an agency of local, state, or national government; however, waiver will occur if an action has not been instituted within 45 days after the landlord obtains actual knowledge of the noncompliance.

(6) If the rental agreement is terminated, the landlord shall comply with s. 83.49(3).

History.—s. 2, ch. 73-330; s. 23, ch. 82-66; s. 6, ch. 83-151; s. 14, ch. 83-217; s. 6, ch. 87-195; s. 6, ch. 93-255; s. 6, ch. 94-170; s. 1373, ch. 95-147; s. 5, ch. 99-6; s. 8, ch. 2013-136.

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