The Eviction Process for Miami Landlords

Tenant Not Paying the Rent?

Your property and investment is our prime concern. Our staff of Attorneys and Realtors are here to help you deal with a delinquent tenant.  We do not provide any services for tenants we only work with landlords. The fastest way to get started is to simply call us for a free consultation.

So in order to get the process for an eviction to get started we want to ensure that you have everything in order, this way we can proceed as fast as possible to get your property back or get the rent that is due.  

You will need to have the following information available.  

1. A lease agreement or some type of contract between you and the tenant.  If you do not have one we can still proceed.  You will have to supply us with the needed information to fill in the gap.

2. A copy of the Notice to Vacate.  Again if you don’t have one we will take care of that for your so it is not a problem

3. Have available any ledgers and paperwork to support your eviction demand when the time is necessary.  

4. A simple non-payment of rent eviction will happen faster than if you have any other types of lease issues. Call us to discuss further.

We have earned the trust of Florida landlords for our services at Eviction Miami Dade, the Realty World group that handles all your property needs, whether it be the legal team for eviction or one of our real estate agents to manage or sell your property.  We are a full real estate brokerage with a staff of in-house attorneys. We are the premier real estate service in the Miami Metro area.  

Using our services in Miami is really the safest and fastest way to resolve your tenant issues. We  will take over the complete eviction process and save you money and valuable time in the long run. We will help ensure that all the documents and procedures are done correctly to reduce the delays or failures of improper filing and handling of the eviction process.  It’s imperative to understand the system, and how to properly handle the tenant issues and the process of an eviction in Florida.  It’s important that everything is done according to the law to ensure that the renter will prosecuted successfully.  We at the M Realty a Group Realty World®  are a fully licensed Florida real estate business and are lawyers are specialist with years of experience in property management and evictions. You can have confidence that your property will have the best legal representation in the Miami area, by a friendly professional staff working for you.

 Call 305-328-8550  to get your Eviction Process Started

What is the Eviction Process for Non Paying Tenants?

There are numerous reasons for which a property manager could want to evict a tenant. These reasons include: if a tenant owes any back rent, even as little as $1.00; if there are any unauthorized residents or visitors staying in the dwelling over the allotted time; or if there is other significant breach of the rental agreement. However, a renter always has the right to fight an eviction in court. Note that an eviction is different from ending a lease at the end of its term.

1. To the tenant or any person over 16 years of age residing at the residence

2. Also by certified, registered, or regular mail

3. It should be attached it to the inside of the front entrance door; or

4. By attaching it to the outside of the front door only if: – there is no mailbox;  the landlord cannot enter the residence because of a dangerous animal or there is an alarm system and the landlord does not know the code.

Eviction notice

The tenant does not need to vacate the unit by the date showed in the Notice to Vacate. If the tenant chooses to remain in the unit, the landlord can then file an eviction fit at the regional JP court. The property manager still can not remove the tenant or the tenant’s residential property without a court order, except when it come to abandonment or when exercising a property manager’s lien. After the property manager submits the eviction fit, the court clerk will send out the eviction notice to the Constable’s office for service to the tenant. The Constable will try to hand deliver the notice to the tenant at the tenant’s home. After two unsuccessful efforts, the Constable will post the notice in a visible place on the outside of the rental unit or hand deliver it. If the eviction is for non payment of rent, the property manager is not obligated to accept delinquent rent. The tenant should attempt to pay the money due. If the property owner accepts it, the tenant needs to get a written receipt and should get the landlord to sign a statement to drop the eviction. The tenant should not presume the landlord has dropped the eviction.

The Tenants Answer

In Miami-Dade County, once the tenant receives the eviction notice, the tenant will typically need to contact the court by 10:00 a.m. on the seventh day after it received the notice and give an answer to the court. If the tenant chooses a jury trial by jury then the tenant will need to respond to the court within 5 days and pay a  fee. The procedure and period might be different relying on the kind of eviction and the county where it is submitted, so check out the notice carefully and follow the directions! When a landlord files a six-day instant possession bond, the renter is served an eviction notice that plainly mentions that the property manager has actually submitted the immediate possession bond and it offers the renter 6 days where to respond and get a hearing. If the tenant fails to respond, the landlord can obtain a Writ of Possession instantly after the sixth day passes. If the renter responds by the sixth day, a hearing date will be set and the eviction will proceed the same as a conventional eviction. If the tenant loses at the hearing, the renter will still have five days after the hearing date to either leave or get an appeal. The tenant’s answer to the court could be written, oral, or submitted by an attorney. The court clerk will inform the renter or the tenant’s attorney of the court date scheduled for the eviction hearing. Failure to address within the time restriction will permit the property manager to get a default judgement against the tenant. If the court grants the property manager a default judgment, the court should inform the tenant by sending out a written notice within 48 hours after the entry of the judgment.

Going to Court for an Eviction

Once the date for the hearing has actually been set the property owner and the tenant need to appear prior to the Justice of the Peace and be prepared to provide their case. The Judge will make a decision based upon the facts provided during the eviction hearing. The decision is called a Judgment. If the Judgment favors the property manager the tenant will have 5 days to vacate or appeal the decision. If the judgement is in favor of the tenant, the property owner also has five days to appeal. Submitting an Appeal. The tenant could contest the judge’s decision by filing an appeal. The tenant will either need to pay an appeal bond or file a Pauper’s Affidavit if the tenant does not have the cash or residential property to pay an appeal bond. When a tenant appeals by submitting an affidavit, and the eviction is for nonpayment of rent, the tenant can remain in possession of the rental unit throughout the appeal by paying one month’s rent into the court’s computer system registry. This needs to be done within five days of submitting the affidavit. The tenant will likewise need to make future rental repayments into the court computer system registry within five days of the date due under the lease. If the eviction is for some reason aside from nonpayment of lease, the tenant needs to remain to pay the rent to the property owner or the property manager can submit a new eviction for nonpayment. As long as the lease is paid, the renter can stay in possession of the rental throughout the appeal. In addition, if the tenant did not submit a written response with the justice court, the renter has to submit a written response with the county court within eight days after the court papers are filed in the county court or the landlord may win by default. Also, the tenant needs to pay a county court filing cost within 20 days after getting notice of the fee or file an affidavit of lack of ability to pay the filing fee. If the tenant falls short to do so, the appeal will be dismissed and the property manager can get a Writ of Possession getting rid of the tenant from the property. This does not provide all details about appeals since they can be complicated; it is recommended to speak with an attorney. Call 305-328-8550 or click here

Writ of Possession

If the tenant does stagnate out or appeal, the property manager has to ask for that the judge concern a Writ Of Possession, which is a court order directing the constable or sheriff to put the property owner in possession of the rental unit. This suggests the tenant, all residents, and individual items will be eliminated by the property owner under the supervision of the constable or constable. Before removing everyone and their possessions, the officer executing the writ must offer the tenant 24 hours to move from the time the policeman posts a written caution on the front door. This notice has to be no smaller than 8-1/2 x 11 inches. It must notify the tenant that a writ has been released, and state the date and time the writ will be executed. Exactly what Else Can a Property manager Do? If an tenant is behind on lease a landlord could have the ability to temporarily secure that tenant out or remove some of the renter’s possessions in a lien.

Lockout

A property manager can alter the lock on a renter’s door when the rent is delinquent, however the landlord needs to provide the tenant written warning that the locks will be changed. This notice must either be hand-delivered or published on the inside of the tenant’s front door, not later than the 3rd day before the locks will be altered, or in your area mailed not later than the fifth day before the locks will be changed. The property owner is needed by law to offer the tenant a new secret and the tenant can continue living in the system. The tenant does not have to pay the lease to get a key. The intended function of this law is to allow for a conference between the landlord and the tenant. A lockout is not an expulsion. For more details, the county law library about Lockout. Property owner’s Lien. A property owner’s lien is a state law that permits a landlord to eliminate a tenant’s property from the rental in order to secure payment of overdue lease. There must be a statement in a written lease, either underlined or in bold print, that allows the property owner the right to enter a rental unit and eliminate the tenant’s personal effects. The lease must be overdue in entire or in part in order for a landlord to take any contents. The law just permits a property manager to take particular non-exempt items such as televisions, VCRs, stereos, or pcs. In addition, the property owner must work out a lien peacefully, so if a tenant refuses to enable a landlord entry or to get rid of the contents, the property owner cannot exercise the lien. When the lien is worked out, the landlord has to leave a notification of entry in addition to a written inventory of the items removed. The landlord must quickly return the contents as quickly as all charges the rent is paid. The landlord can charge money for packing, removing, or storing the items however it must be authorized in the written lease. To learn more, see law concerning the Property manager’s Lien. The one circumstance where a property owner can remove all of a tenant’s belongings without going to court initially is when stating abandonment.

Abandonment

Many leases define the word abandonment. It will usually be a statement in a written lease that enables the landlord the right to in peacefully enter a rental and remove everything. The lease will describe the situations in which the landlord can declare the rental unit abandoned. A property manager who states abandonment when there is no clear meaning in the lease could be thought about to have unlawfully evicted an tenant.

What Is An Illegal Eviction?

An unlawful eviction happens when a property owner illegally blocks a tenant access to the rental or a renter’s residential property is emptied without a court order and the removal:

1. is not the result of abandonment and/or
2. is not the exercise of a property owner’s lien.

The property manager is also prohibited from getting rid of a door, window or any system linked to a door or window; or remove furniture, fixtures or appliances furnished by the landlord from properties leased to a tenant unless the landlord removes the item for actual repair work or replacement. If any of these contents are removed and not immediately returned, this could be considered an unlawful eviction and the landlord might be accountable under the Removal of Residential property and Exemption of Residential Tenant law. If a landlord breaches this law, the tenant can recuperate possession of the properties or terminate the lease. In addition, the tenant could sue the landlord for a civil damages of one month’s rent, $500, actual damages, court expenses, and reasonable lawyer’s fees. Click to read what to do when the tenant does not pay the rent *Disclaimer: Laws change from time to time and this written article must be verified for changes to the law.

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