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As draconian as it may seem to the non-lawyer, if
the landlord serves a defective 3 Day Eviction Notice, the landlord’s residential eviction
complaint will be dismissed for failing to state a cause of action (i.e., it is legally
insufficient). Investment & Income Realty, Inc. v. Bentley, 480 So. 2d 219 (Fla. 5th DCA
1985). That is because a proper 3 day eviction notice is a statutory condition precedent to
filing an eviction proceeding in Florida.
Moreover, because the landlord is the party
seeking to prove his or her entitlement to the tenant eviction, the landlord carries the burden of
proof on that issue. As a result, if the tenant raises the defense that the landlord’s 3 Day
Eviction Notice is defective, the burden of proof has not yet shifted to the tenant until the
landlord proves that the 3 Day Eviction Notice is legally sufficient. The tenant is not
required to pay the alleged past due rent into the Court registry pursuant to Florida Statute §
83.60(2).
LANDLORD RIGHTS TIP: A non-defective 3 Day
Eviction Notice is absolutely critical to a residential tenant eviction in Florida. The
following articles examine some of the most common defects raised in defense to tenant eviction
related to the 3 Day Eviction Notice.
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