Land mines and other surprises in residential landlord and tenant cases.
Florida Bar Journal › Vol. 75 Nbr. 11, December 2001
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Summary
Real Property, Probate and Trust Law - Florida
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Land mines and other surprises in residential landlord and tenant cases.
Residential landlord and tenant cases in Florida are simple and quick. Forms for the notices are prescribed by statute, and the procedures are simplified and summary in nature. Yet many landlords are waylaid by dismissal, and many tenants overlook available defenses. This article will outline a few of the surprises that can embroil and delay a case, result in dismissal, or otherwise drive the unsuspecting practitioner to reach for her antacid tablets.
Defects in Notice or Pleadings vs. Requirement to Deposit Rent In Bell v. Kornblatt, 705 So. 2d 113 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998), rev. denied, 717 So. 2d 528 (Fla. 1998), the Fourth District Court of Appeal clarified a significant point concerning the three-day notice prescribed by Chapter 83. (1) The statute provides that a landlord "may terminate the rental agreement" if the tenant fails to pay rent when due and the default continues for three days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays; after delivery of written demand by the landlord for payment of the rent or possession of the premises. In Bell, the three-day notice was defective, and, based on a number of previous circuit and county court cases recited in Bell, the trial court dismissed the eviction complaint, concluding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The Bell court analyzed t...See the full content of this document
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