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A troublesome tenant may cost you money and your good reputation as a landlord. Dealing with them may also cause you a lot of unnecessary stress and consume time. In some situations – like non-payment of rent, extremely late payments, or breach of lease agreement – eviction may seem like the only viable solution to your tenant problems. Before you decide to take this serious legal step, however, you must be aware of the costs related to the eviction process. In this blog, we explore common expenses a landlord must be prepared to bear before, during, and after the eviction. We also tackle the question if it is possible to reduce the eviction costs.

Fees Related to Serving & Filing

As we mentioned in our August blog, each eviction must closely follow a process delineated by both state and county laws. Such laws state, for example, that before initiating any action to evict a tenant, they must be served a notice of eviction. If you’d like a professional to prepare such notice for you, this will likely be the first cost you’ll have to bear with relation to an eviction.

The notice must be then served to the tenant. Again, while you may choose to do that yourself, many prefer to have a third party – for example, a process server – deliver the notice. This solution is called civil processing and its advantage is that it creates an official record of the delivery. However, you must be prepared to pay a fee for it.

After the notice has been delivered and before you can move forward with the eviction, you need to file important paperwork – such as a Summons and a Complaint for Eviction and Damages – with your local or district court. At this stage, you will need to pay filing and processing fees. In Florida, these fees will cost you about $250, with increasing costs if there is more than one tenant.

Court Costs and Legal Fees

In addition to the initial paperwork that you file with the court, you will likely be required to file additional documents at every stage of the eviction. The costs of legal proceedings can quickly add up, especially if the eviction is contested by the tenant. Such expenses may relate to a court review of your case, the discovery process, and a jury trial. Depending on the circumstances, all such expenses may easily reach a few hundred, and sometimes thousands of dollars.

Attorney Fees

Due to the complexity of your eviction case, or simply for your peace of mind, you may require the assistance of an eviction attorney. There are different ways in which lawyers may charge you for their services. Some use a flat-rate package that includes the preparation of the needed documents and a number of court appearances. Others charge for their work according to their billable hourly rate. If your eviction case is contested and a hearing is necessary, attorney fees will likely be higher.

Other Eviction Related Costs

If the court approves of the eviction, or if you win your eviction case, you must be prepared for the cost of enforcing the eviction. For example, you will have to pay a fee service of the Writ of Possession in the amount of $90. After the actual, physical eviction has taken place, you will likely have to clean or even renovate your property, which will entail additional costs.

How to Reduce Eviction Costs

Most of the costs and fees mentioned above are mandatory and therefore impossible to avoid if you’re evicting a tenant. However, according to Florida Statutes, as a prevailing party in an eviction lawsuit, you are entitled to recover court costs and attorney fees from the losing party.

Nevertheless, the best way to reduce eviction costs is to avoid evictions altogether by investing money in better tenant-screening. While there are no guarantees, choosing tenants with a good credit score, solid references, and a professional tenant application will be less likely to give you lawful reasons for eviction.

Atlas Law – Trusted Florida Eviction Lawyers

At times, though, eviction may be necessary. If you are losing money or your good reputation as a landlord due to a troublesome tenant, contact Atlas Law. We are Florida attorneys who specialize in finding innovative solutions to complex eviction cases. Contact us today and schedule a consultation to talk about the details of your eviction case.

Eviction can be a messy and costly process. That’s why few landlords, if any, would rush with a decision to evict a tenant even if the relationship they have is far from perfect. Additionally, evicting a tenant for personal or unlawful reasons may warrant a retaliatory legal action initiated by the tenant. Even if a landlord feels like they have all the reason to proceed with the eviction, a threat of a lawsuit may make them think twice before going through with it.

Nevertheless, a troublesome tenant can negatively influence a landlord’s reputation, cause financial losses, and even become a threat to other occupants of the building. If you are a landlord, you should be aware that the law protects your rights and offers a framework for lawful evictions of extremely troublesome tenants. In our August blog, we offered some suggestions on how to stay out of legal trouble when evicting a tenant. This month, we will explore some reasons why eviction may actually be the only way to solve problems in a building that you own.

Tenant Repeatedly Failed to Pay Rent and Accumulated Debt

Most landlords are reasonable when faced with a tenant who has encountered a financial struggle and is unable to pay rent for a month or makes the payment a little late. Many such issues can be resolved thanks to good will shown by both parties. However, a repeated, unapologetic non-payment of rent is a lease violation and a financial hazard that few landlords can and are willing to afford. A landlord must remember, however, that they are obliged to deliver an eviction notice to the tenant with a 3 or 5-day notice period (depending on the property) before initiating further action.

Tenant Caused Major Damage to the Property

Normal wear and tear is not a lawful reason to initiate an eviction. However, intentional and extensive damage to the property can negatively influence its value and entail financial losses to the landlord, at the very least those related to repair costs. Similarly, a tenant cannot make significant changes or repairs to the property without a landlord’s permission or if such changes are not covered in the lease agreement. Both damaging the property and making illegal changes may constitute a lease violation, and are good reasons to start an eviction. However, if a tenant commits to repairing the damage and actually makes the repairs, the reason may cease to be valid.

Tenant Engages in Illegal Use of the Property

Illegal use of the property may entail engaging in some illegal activity on the property, but it can also mean using the property for business purposes even if the business itself is legal. If the property you are renting is residential, operating a business or commercial activities out of it may be illegal. Before taking eviction action on the basis of this reason, it is best to consult all the details and circumstances involved with an eviction attorney.

Ready to Evict a Tenant? Seek Legal Advice First

Taking care of all the legal aspects of an eviction may be stressful, but it’s even more nerve-wracking if the matter ends up in court. That’s why before taking this drastic step, you should make sure you have a trusted legal professional at your side. At Atlas Law, our attorneys have ample experience in handling complicated eviction cases. We will gladly help you make sure you stay out of trouble while protecting your property and financial interests. Contact us without delay to discuss your legal options.

When faced with a tenant who repeatedly fails to pay rent or frequently violates the rental agreement in some other way, a landlord may feel the only way to deal with this problem is to evict the tenant. However, the decision to evict a troublesome tenant should not be taken lightly. The eviction process can be long and costly and cause a landlord a lot of stress. In addition, Florida – like other states – has very specific laws that govern the process. By failing to adhere to these laws, a landlord may run the risk of a countersuit and suffer additional financial losses. In this blog, we will discuss 5 things that landlords must absolutely avoid in order to stay out of legal trouble while evicting a tenant in Florida.

Evicting a Tenant for Unlawful Reasons

Eviction may only take place if there are solid reasons for it. These reasons are clearly defined by the law and they include:

• non-payment of rent or extremely late payments
• violation of the lease or rental agreement
• destruction of property
• disturbing the neighbors in a way which constitutes a breach of peace
• engaging in unlawful activities on the premises (such as selling drugs)

Trying to evict a tenant on grounds other then these may be considered unlawful and results in nothing more than an unnecessary legal battle with little chance of success. If a landlord isn’t sure if they have a valid reason for eviction, it will be best to contact an eviction lawyer for a consultation.

Trying to Evict by Extralegal Means

Even when there are serious and lawful reasons for eviction, a landlord must refrain from trying to evict a tenant by themselves. They must also avoid any actions aiming to force the tenant out of the premises, whether by the use of physical strength or strategies such as such as changing locks, turning off utilities, or communicating threats. All such actions are unlawful and may result in the tenant filing civil charges against the landlord.

Failure to Deliver the Eviction Notice

For an eviction to be lawful, a landlord must follow all the procedures stipulated by the law. Florida requires a landlord to write an eviction notice and serve it – or in other ways, personally deliver it – to the tenant. After that, the landlord must let a certain amount of time pass before they can proceed with the process.

If the reason for the eviction is a failure to pay rent, the notice period is three or five days, depending on the type of property that is being rented. In the case of a violation of the lease and rental agreement, a landlord must usually give the tenant 7 days to cure, or correct, the violation. If the rent is paid or the violation corrected within the stipulated period, the landlord cannot proceed with the eviction.

It is equally important to note that the notice must contain no errors or mistakes. If some information on the notice is lacking or incorrect, the landlord must fix it, serve the notice again, and wait for the stipulated period to pass before taking the next step in the eviction process.

Violating the Fair Housing Act

According to the Fair Housing Act – a federal anti-discriminatory law that has also been adopted by the state of Florida – it is illegal for a landlord to discriminate against a tenant based on factors such as race, religion, gender, national origin, familial status, and disability. Any eviction action based on such characteristics would be unlawful and invalid.

Forgetting Tenants Can Fight an Eviction

Tenants in Florida have the right to contest the eviction process if they feel their rights have been violated. In order to avoid costly legal proceedings or civil charges, it is usually best for a landlord to consult a lawyer before starting the eviction proceedings.

Atlas Law provides landlords with comprehensive legal assistance and innovative solutions in difficult eviction cases and other landlord/tenant litigation matters. If you are a landlord and are facing challenges related to a troublesome tenant, do not hesitate to contact us. We will schedule a consultation with you in order to understand your circumstances and provide advice with regards to your legal options.

The word “jurisdiction” gets thrown around a lot in just about every legal discussion, but what does it really mean? And, when it comes to eviction cases, why is it important? Here’s a brief but easy to understand guide on the definition of jurisdiction and why it matters in all cases, especially eviction cases.

Overall, jurisdiction is the right of an entity to make laws and judgments for people and corporations living within the control of the entity. In our system of government, there are multiple layers of jurisdictions. For example, starting at one of the lowest levels, a city is a jurisdiction in that the city is allowed to make laws governing the citizens who live within the city. Counties and states are jurisdictions for residents within their boundaries, just like the United States is for all of its citizens.

In legal cases, jurisdiction is extremely important because this will determine what laws are applicable to a particular person, a piece of property, or court action. A familiar example of this is the debate over whether a piece of property is located within the jurisdiction of the city or of the county. If the city has different laws regarding usage of property than the county, it is extremely important to determine in which jurisdiction the property is located so the appropriate law can be applied to the issue.

Eviction cases are an excellent example of where jurisdiction plays a major role in both the expense of bringing the case and the potential outcome. This is because eviction laws are occasionally set by the local governmental entity—that is, either the city or the county in which the property is located. Evictions must be heard in the jurisdiction in which the property is located.

You see where this is going, right? That means that if you have multiple properties across multiple jurisdictions with a legal issue, you cannot consolidate them or have them all heard in one place. And, if that’s not enough, some jurisdictions have some rules for landlord-tenant situations that could be different than a neighboring jurisdiction. For example, one jurisdiction may require mediation prior to entry of a final judgment, while other jurisdictions may allow you to bypass mediation.

Since you cannot clone yourself to attend all of these hearings or learn all of the different laws applicable in the different jurisdictions, you would need to hire multiple lawyers and law firms, (one from each jurisdiction!) to be able to advise you as to that particular jurisdiction’s rules.

It does not have to be this way. Attorney Brian Chase with Atlas Law provides legal services for landlords in all counties in Florida. Atlas Law offers a “one-stop shop” for clients ranging from those with multiple properties in multiple jurisdictions to small clients with one or two properties in one or two jurisdictions. Atlas Law can advise you no matter the jurisdiction within Florida and can provide representation in tenant situations as needed. Contact us today to get started.   

A great way to avoid evictions is to do some work on the front end to secure quality tenants who will pay on time and not destroy your property. This is not as daunting of a task as it might seem, however. It just requires that you take some time to outline and prioritize in the beginning and then put a screening process in place.

1) Require an application from your prospective tenant. At a minimum, a rental application will give you information about your tenant, including the name of their employer, salary, prior landlord, and reason for leaving (if applicable), and the names of any other occupants who might be inhabiting the premises. You can ask if they have ever filed for bankruptcy or have criminal convictions. You can also find out if they have pets, what kinds, and sizes.

2) Insist on a “no blanks” policy. One easy way to screen prospective tenants is to require that they complete all portions of the application. Of course, it should be clearly indicated on the application that all blanks must be completed or the application will not be considered. Provided the prospective tenant knows this, if they leave any portion of the application blank, you are free to discard the application.

3) Run a background check – but get consent first! As a landlord, you are allowed to run a background check on a prospective tenant to confirm what they have told you and to ensure that there are no surprises such as convictions or bankruptcies that they may have conveniently forgotten to include. In Florida, however, you cannot run a background check on an applicant unless they consent to the background check first. The best way to do this is to include a provision in the rental application indicating that a background check may be run and to have the applicant sign to give their consent. This consent should also cover credit report checks since a regular background check may not cover credit reporting agencies.

4) Charge an application fee. Florida law allows you to charge an application fee and does not limit the amount that can be charged. However, the conventional wisdom is to only charge a fee that would be no more than a normal expense. Normally, the application fee is non-refundable presumably because you will be using at least some of the money to run the background checks. You can make the fee refundable if you would like, but if you do make it non-refundable, make sure that this is stated clearly in the rental application. Also note that application fees and deposits cannot be commingled in one account. They must be kept separate.

5) Be consistent and unbiased. Your screening process, including the rental application, and application of your requirements for acceptable tenants should be applied consistently and fairly to all prospective tenants. The federal Fair Housing Act mandates that there should be no questions or screening criteria that discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, and children. Do not make exceptions to your rules for prospective tenants. If you require tenants to have a 600 or higher credit score, then keep to that requirement. You get into trouble when you apply your rules unevenly.

Screening tenants, preparing rental agreements, and running background checks can be time-consuming especially for landlords with multiple properties, or who have other primary occupations. If you are a landlord and want to have your tenant screening done right, including a well-crafted rental agreement and selection criteria, contact Atlas Law. We can help draft your standard rental agreement, determine appropriate criteria for tenants, and assist with overall screening. Contact us today to get started.