The Landlord Must Properly Serve The Tenant With A 3 Day Eviction Notice Prior To Initiating The Eviction Act, Failing Which, The Landlord's Eviction Action Must Be Dismissed

Many landlord mistakenly believe that they will be able to convince a judge that because the tenant has failed to pay the rent, the equities of the situation are in favor of the landlord and, therefore, evicting a tenant is easy. As a result, many landlords forego hiring landlord tenant attorneys and attempt to navigate the eviction process themselves.

Unfortunately, many landlords fail to realize that Florida law requires that they properly serve the tenant with a 3 day eviction notice prior to filing an eviction proceeding. This is known as a condition precedent to an eviction action. Clark v. Hiett, 495 So. 2d 773 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986). If the landlord fails to fulfill this condition precedent, the eviction complaint fails to state a cause of action (i.e., it is legally insufficient) and the Court should dismiss it.

LANDLORD RIGHTS TIP: It is imperative that the landlord serve the 3 day eviction notice prior to starting an eviction lawsuit. If the landlord fails to do so, he or she will wasting money (i.e., the filing fee, the service of process fees, etc.) and time (i.e., the landlord will be required to start over).