Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Re: Tenant Eviction laws

In short, you probably have approx. 3-4 weeks. This will depend on 1) whether you have a valid defense and thus the right to go before a judge and 2) how busy the courts are where you live.

The �3-day notice� for rent or possession is required in order to give notice to the tenant to either pay what rent is owed (per the notice) or leave. The law has very strict rules on the requirements of this notice (see Ch. 83 Florida Statutes.) However, if you don�t leave voluntarily, the Landlord can�t just �call the cops� like most people assume. They will have to file an eviction complaint to legally have you removed. The earliest Landlord can file this complaint (in your case) would be May 7th.

If/when they do file a complaint, you will have to be served with the complaint. After you are served, you have five business days to answer. If you have a valid reason why you feel you shouldn�t be evicted, you should answer the complaint and then the court will set a hearing to decide the matter. If you do not answer, Landlord will then seek a default judgment and ultimately a Writ of Possession which essentially gives you 24 hours to vacate the premises once you receive it.