Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

Do you have a written lease? That lease would control. If no lease, then your rental checks would establish the periodic rental basis for month to month. That would require a 15 day notice to terminate the lease. If you were not given that kind of notice, then the termination would be ineffective. If eviction was filed, you would have to pay the rental alleged to be due into the court registry and then have the matter set for hearing. Since you don't sound like you like very much, you ought to consider moving before you give birth.

Don't you just love the law?

Your landlord is engaged in a "constructive eviction", which means she is improperly punishing you in the hope you are forced to move out. Her actions, in several particulars, violate Florida's Landlord-Tenenat Act. It is not hard to understand the statute. There is a residential and commercial section. You are under the residential section- of course. Here is the Statute Number: Chapter 83 Part II. The Act can be easily found online. A landlord may never engage in "self-help" (an off the record push to make you vacate)

I am concerned about what you term "eviction papers". First there must be a county court filing of an eviction complaint; and service of a summons and the filed complaint upon you or posted to the premises. Secondly, if that is done you have 5 days to respond or be defaulted, not 3. A default in responding will result in a court order for the County Sheriff to remove your possessions and a Sheriff's demand that you vacate. If you have a written statement from the landlord suggesting something else besides a 5 day dealdline, then there may be an action for "abuse of process" which could involve punitive damages against the landlord.

Note that you absolutely must make the 5 day deadline. 5 days is a "drop dead" deadline. At this time there is nothing more important to you regarding your residential issues than an eviction complaint if indeed one has even been filed. When you go to the local County Court Clerk to respond to a formal eviction complaint you will need to deposit all of the rent that is due. This must be done once a month for as long as the litigation continues. The County Clerk will assist you in filling out forms.

Florida has a Consumer Rights agency. There is specific information about evictions. The agency will answer your questions and assist, as well.

If there are no more circumstances beyond those mentioned in your email, the judge will not at all like what the landlord is doing to you.

Why do you want to staY?