The Law Office of John Schwartz can help protect your rights under Florida law as a property manager and/or landlord. In the event an eviction becomes necessary, a sometimes complex list of procedures has to be followed before a tenant can be legally removed from the premises. The language and manner of submitting the required documents needs to be precise, and must follow very specific guidelines. Hiring the right attorney to assist you with the eviction process is crucial to your ability to quickly and legally vacate the non-compliant tenant.

We offer our clients a FREE initial consultation, where we evaluate your case and detail the options available to you by law. We will walk you through the eviction process step-by-step to ensure you have the tools needed to help your eviction be filed quickly, the right way, the first time. We can also provide assistance in drafting any forms you need to submit to your tenant (such as a Three Day Notice). We have form templates available for your use to ensure the language is specific, and we can also draft a complete Three Day Notice (or other required forms) tailored to your specific situation for a small additional fee.

Our flat-fee eviction service for an uncontested residential eviction includes drafting the 5-Day Summons, Complaint for Possession, Motion for Clerk's Default, Motion for Default Final Judgment, Default Final Judgment, and Writ of Possession. Our office makes every effort to ensure your eviction is handled quickly and efficiently. To this end, we employ private process servers to serve the summons and complaint on your tenant. Court fees, service of process and the fee for the Sheriff to serve Writ of Possession are not included.

Once the Three Day Notice has been posted, the tenant has three days (excluding weekends and holidays) to pay the full rent amount due or vacate the premises. On the fourth day your attorney can draft and file an eviction complaint and summons. The complaint and summons are filed with the court, and the summons is served on the tenant. Our office will typically have the complaint and summons drafted, filed and served within two working days of receipt of the required documents and payment. The tenant then has five days (not including weekends and holidays) to file a reply with the court and, if disputing the eviction, deposit the full amount of rent due with the Court Registry.

On the sixth day, if no response is filed, our office drafts the documents for possession and forwards them to the court. If no answer or counterclaim has been filed, the Judge signs the Final Judgment once the documents are received by the court. Once the Final Judgment has been signed by the Judge, the Writ of Possession and Sheriff's fee are delivered to the Sheriff. The Sheriff then posts the Writ of Possession on your tenant's door, giving the tenant 24 hours to vacate the premises. Our office cannot control the time that it takes for the Judge to sign the Final Judgment, nor the amount of time that the Sheriff takes to post the Writ of Possession.

Contact the Law Office of John Schwartz today to schedule your FREE initial consultation. The evictions process can be somewhat lengthy, and the sooner you get started, the sooner you can take back possession of your property.