Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

Re: Eviction

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If you have not paid your rent, your landlord can give you a three day notice and then begin an eviction proceeding. Although you will probably be out before your landlord can obtain a final judgment (which is much longer than the four days she demanded), she can proceed and then file a certified copy of the judgment in the public records as a potential lien against you. It will be good for ten years and can be renewed for an additional ten years. In addition, it will be picked up by the credit bureaus and will be a negative entry on your credit report for many years to come.

You would be well served to work things out with your landlord to avoid this problem with your credit history. The advantage for the landlord is to save the cost of the filing fee, sheriff for service of process and possible attorney's fees.

Scott R. Jay, Esq.