If your tenant misses a rent payment, you must give notice and wait 3 days, not counting Saturday, Sunday, or court-observed legal holidays, before you can evict your tenant. The notice must specify the amount due and the deadline for payment. If your tenant pays rent within the 3 days, then you must stop eviction proceedings. If your tenant pays after the 3 day limit, and you accept the rent, then you cannot evict your tenant. See Fla. Stat. 83.56(5). If your tenant does not pay within the 3 day period and does not vacate within the 3 days, you can proceed with eviction proceedings.

If your tenant violates the terms of the lease, your tenant's actions are either curable or noncurable. Curable (meaning your tenant has an opportunity to fix the problem) actions may include unauthorized pets, unauthorized guests, not keeping the dwelling sanitary, and parking in an unauthorized manner. In this case, you must leave your tenant a notice specifying the noncompliance and explaining that, unless your tenant takes care of the noncompliance within 7 days, the lease will end. However, if your tenant commits the same noncompliance again within 12 months, you may evict your tenant without providing another chance to cure.

Noncurable actions may include intentional damage, destruction, misuse of property, or continued unreasonable disturbances. In this case, you only have to leave a notice, stating the noncompliance and that the lease is terminated and your tenant has 7 days to vacate the premises. If your tenant does not vacate within 7 days, you can proceed with eviction proceedings.

You must deliver all of the above notices by mail or delivery to your tenant, or if your tenant is absent from the premises, by posting in a conspicuous place on the premises.

If your tenant believes you have not performed according to the lease, your tenant must provide notice to you, specify the problems, and state that your tenant intends to terminate the lease unless you fix the problems. See Fla. Stat. 83.56(1). If you fail to fix the problems within 7 days of the date of your tenant's notice to you, your tenant may terminate the lease. This notice does not prevent you from proceeding with the eviction process. However, you cannot retaliate against your tenant by raising the rent, making unreasonable requests to inspect your tenant's place, or treating your tenant differently from other tenants. See Fla. Stat. 83.64.

If the issues are not resolved after you send notice, you may file a court case. As a general rule, you will have to file a case against your tenant, not only to evict your tenant but also to recover damages for unpaid rent. In addition, you can file a case to evict your tenant for failure to comply with the lease, other than the nonpayment of rent. Copies of all leases, rental agreements, contracts or other evidence of leasing must be attached to the complaint.

After you have waited the required number of days, and your tenant has not left the premises or paid the rent due, you may file a court case by filing a complaint in the county court. You will pay filing fees, ask the Clerk's Office to issue a summons, and deliver the summons to the sheriff or a private process server for service of your complaint on your tenant.

You must bring the following documents with you when you file your eviction case:

• The complaint for eviction (3 copies - original for the case file, 1 copy for service on 1 defendant, and 1 copy for mailing)
• Summons (original and 3 copies for one defendant)
• Lease agreement (3 copies - 1 for file, 1 for service on 1 defendant, and 1 for mailing)
• Civil Cover Sheet
• Notice (3 copies - 1 for file, 1 for service on one defendant, and 1 for mailing)
• A stamped envelope, addressed to the tenant

You will file your case with the Leon County Clerk's Office, located at 301 S. Monroe St., Suite 100, Tallahassee, FL 32301. The filing fee for eviction actions is $185.00 plus $10.00 per summons issuance for each defendant. The Clerk will collect the fees, and assign a case number and judge to your case. If you cannot afford to pay the filing fees, you must complete an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status, and file it with the complaint. If you are found indigent, the filing fees are waived, but the fee for issuance of summons is not.

Your tenant must be served with a copy of the complaint, attachments, and a summons. This can be done by Leon County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) or a private process server. Fee information for the LCSO can be found at http://lcso.leonfl.org/civservicefees.htm. Private process server fees vary, so contact them directly for details; a list of certified servers can be found at http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/2ndCircuit/index.php?Page=ProcessServers.php.

Please provide instructions as to whether you want to pick up the packet that needs to be served. If there are no instructions, it will be returned to you. If you would like for this office to forward your packet to the LCSO or a private process server for service, please attach a check, made out to the LCSO or the private process server, and we will handle that.

The LCSO provides the following information guidelines:

• You may present a separate summons for each defendant. This means, in addition to $10 per summons issuance fee by the Clerk's Office, there will be a $40.00 per defendant for service, and separate returns of service will be filed in the court file; or
• You may list all defendants on 1 summons, if they live at the same address, but you must provide an original and copy for each defendant. There will be the $10 per summons issuance fee and a $40.00 service fee for each defendant, if you want individual returns of service for each defendant to be filed in the court file.
• If you choose the 2nd option but do not provide the copies or more than one $40.00 service fee, the LCSO will file one return of service in the court file.

While it is solely within the judges' discretion to rule on what constitutes proper legal service:

• For possession, the proper posting of the complaint with all tenants' names on it will most likely be sufficient and separate returns as to each would not be necessary.
• For damages, individual or substitute service probably requires separate returns.

The tenant has five days (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) after service of the summons to file an answer, if your tenant wishes to contest the eviction; also, your tenant must deposit any outstanding rent with the County Civil Division of the Leon County Clerk's Office. The file will be sent to the judge assigned to the case for further action. You will receive copies of all documents filed in this case, and must provide copies to your tenant of any document you file in this case.

You do not need to file the following documents during Step Two, but you may be required in this stage, based on the circumstances of your case:

• Non-Military Affidavit
• Affidavit of Damages: Complete this form by listing each amount of damage and the reason for the amount. You may be entitled to keep the security deposit to apply against damages to the property. However, failure to send a notice to your tenant concerning these damages will result in waiver of the right to claim the deposit.
• Motion for Default: If your tenant does not file an answer, you may move for default, and the court will issue a final judgment that will allow the sheriff to evict your tenant.
• Final Judgment: Furnish the Clerk with an original Final Judgment and a copy for each of the tenants and yourself.
• Writ of Possession: If a Final Judgment is entered directing the Clerk to issue a Writ of Possession, we will issue the Writ of Possession, the writ will be on the Clerk's secure website, http://judicial.clerk.leon.fl.us, for the landlords/representatives to print. Then the landlords/representatives must deliver the Writ of Possession to the sheriff for service. Landlords/representatives must provide the name and phone number of the primary contact to our office when filing the complaint or immediately after the final judgment has been issued.

If your tenant answers your Complaint for Eviction, you will receive a Notice of Hearing that sets a court date. If you do not appear at the hearing, you will lose automatically. If you appear, you may present your case for the eviction. If your tenant loses, your tenant will owe double the rent for the time that your tenant stayed over, your legal expenses, and court costs.

If your eviction case is settled prior to the entry of a final judgment, you must file a Notice of Dismissal, which will dispose of the case. However, if you win the case and a final judgment is entered, the Clerk's Office will issue a Writ of Possession to the sheriff, commanding the sheriff to put you back in possession of the dwelling after 24 hours' notice has been posted conspicuously on the premises. You then may remove your tenant's personal property from the premises. Fla. Stat. 83.62.

If your tenant loses, you may begin eviction by changing the locks and asserting a lien on your tenant's possessions for the money your tenant owes you, or by removing all your tenant's belongings and leaving them on the property line. The only exception to the above procedure is if your tenant has abandoned the premises, or your tenant is absent from the premises for a period of time equal to one-half the time of periodic rental payments. See Fla. Stat. 83.59.

After entry of the Judgment, the Clerk will issue a Writ of Possession; the writ will be on the Clerk's secure website, http://judicial.clerk.leon.fl.us for you to print copies. The writ describes the premises and commands the Sheriff to put the landlord in possession after 24 hours' notice conspicuously posted on the premises. The Writ must be served by LCSO, and there is a fee for this service.

Please remember: The Clerk's Office is prohibited from giving specific legal advice. If you have any doubts about your ability to file an eviction on your own behalf, you should seek legal advice from an attorney. Two contacts are Legal Services of North Florida at 385-9007, or the Tallahassee Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service at 681-0601.

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