Landlord/Tenant Presentation Florida Judicial College
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Transcript Landlord/Tenant Presentation Florida Judicial College
RESIDENTIAL EVICTION
QUICK GUIDE
SUMMARY PROCEDURE: Evictions
should be given priority over non-time/money
sensitive cases.
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SIXTH / TENTH BUSINESS DAY after Tenant served,
file should be brought to Judge.
ONCE JUDGE SEES FILE Judge should quickly review
file to determine if:
DEFAULT is proper OR
HEARING should be set AND
ORDER should be entered ordering money should be
placed into the Court Registry
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COMMON DEFAULT SITUATIONS
1. Tenant residential, failure to pay rent, has Defaulted
(no answer filed) - Final Judgment should be signed.
2. Tenant has Defaulted (answer filed) but has not
posted rent into the court registry.
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A. If full amount of rent as alleged in complaint is
posted into court registry, Tenant is entitled to a
Trial.
B. If Tenant alleges that they have paid the
rent, they are entitled to a Trial.
C. If partial amount of rent is posted into court
registry, some judges will set case for Trial and
order the balance to be placed into court registry
by a fixed date or a Default Judgment will enter.
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Tenant has a right to challenge the amount of rent
that is asked for in the complaint.
Problem: Sometimes the Tenant will simply file a
hollow Motion to Determine Rent saying “I disagree
with the amount owed.”
The motion is defective if it fails to allege that the rent
asked for in the complaint in “in error” and to attach
Documentation.
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If Tenant admits owing an amount of rent but denies the
amount claimed, the judge should ORDER the
undisputed amount into the Court Registry.
Motion to Determine Rent -- Judge determines how
much if any rent is to be placed into the court registry.
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MOTIONS TO DISMISS
Defective 3-Day Notice
a. Failure to exclude holidays
b. Amounts other than rent demanded
c. Mailed notice omitted to add 5 days
Improper parties
a. Not all Tenants named on 3-Day Notice
b. Improper owner as Landlord
c. Fictitious name not filed for Landlord
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2 VIEWS BY JUDGES:
These are fatal defects so that case must be
dismissed if deposit is not made; OR,
These are not fatal and Tenant is still defaulted if rent
money is not placed into the registry (View of Judge
Hauser)
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SCHEDULING EVICTION TRIALS
Tenant has alleged all rent has been paid.
Order accrued rent be placed into the Court
Registry should be entered.
The Tenant in possession would not typically be
prejudiced by a delay in the Trial date.
Continuance should be limited due to the
potential waste and rent loss and the fact that it
is under Summary Procedure.
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EVICTION TRIAL PROCEDURE
If all parties are NOT present, wait at least 20 minutes
then take uncontested Evictions first
Ask parties if they have “had a chance to talk” If the
answer is NO, give a 10 minute chance to send parties
into the hall to discuss case.
Before beginning Trial, ask Tenant if they wish to stay,
have vacated, are on their way out or just need a little
time.
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Once Trial begins, often the Judge will often ask the
Tenant, “Have you paid the rent”.
If the answer is NO and it is due to financial
difficulties, job loss, etc, it may be appropriate to enter
Final Judgment of Eviction.
If the answer is NO and is due to habitability issues,
Tenant must prove they gave the Landlord A
Seven Day Notice of Withholding Rent.
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If the Tenant proves notice, the Tenant may be able to
advance a valid defense if Tenant prove Landlord's
material noncompliance.
A. The judge can then DENY the Eviction at Trial
B. Reduce the rent as the evidence presents itself at
Trial
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MEDIATION
Rather than setting the case for Trial, Court may direct
parties to Mediation upon deposit.
PROBLEMS:
Where settlement is not reached, there is sometimes
a delay until the trial date
Mediation order that fails to require the accrued rent
to be deposited
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SETTLING THE EVICTION CASE
The 2 common types of STIPULATIONS are
1. THE PAY AND STAY STIPULATION whereby the
Landlord AND Tenant work it all out.
2. THE TEMPORARY STIPULATION whereby the
Tenant agrees to leave at a fixed date maybe paying
a bit for the privilege or not.
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A NOTE ON STIPULATIONS: Some judges will:
Refuse to sign stipulations that continue on once the
Tenant gets caught up; or,
Would require the Tenant to be served with a new 3
day notice and/or posting of the notice of Default.
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STAYING THE
WRIT OF POSSESSION
MOTION TO STAY WRIT OF POSSESSION should
immediately be looked at by the judge to determine if
there is any merit.
JUDGE CAN deny stay ex parte or set an emergency
hearing.
SOME MERITORIOUS REASONS
Landlord has accepted rent OR
Made a deal with the Tenant.
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DISBURSING THE DEPOSIT
The Tenant may deposit rent into the Court Registry,
have a Trial etc.
If there is an issue regarding entitlement to the Court
Registry, the Judge may set this for a later Trial.
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