Eviction Defenses Available to Tenants in Florida

Every state has its tenant eviction laws that govern when and how a landlord can evict a renter. A tenant can be removed for overdue rent or for violating the lease or lease agreement. Sometimes a tenant may have good reasons to fight against eviction. This article explains how and when a tenant may defend against eviction in Florida.

In Florida, Chapter 83 of the Florida state landlord-tenant statutes govern evection procedures. Landlords must follow the due procedures subject to laws when evicting a tenant for not paying rent on time or for violating a portion of the lease or rental agreement.

Evictions for Unpaid Rent

A landlord must give the tenant a three-day notice notifying him he should vacate for failure to pay rent. The tenant has three days to either pay the rent or vacate the rental unit. See the Nolo article Eviction Notices for Nonpayment of Rent in Florida, and Florida legislations covering termination of rental agreement: Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.56(3).

Evictions for Lease Agreement Violation

If the tenant has violated a portion of the lease agreement by let's say having pets when none are allowed, then the landlord must give the tenant a seven-day notice to leave. In such a case, the tenant then has up to seven days leave the rental units, also under Chapter 83 or Florida statutes covering terminations: in this case, Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.56(2).

The Role of Courts in Evictions

If the tenant does not move out within the specified time frame of the notice, then the landlord will typically file a complaint at the court in the county where the rental property is located. The court sets a hearing date for both the landlord and the tenant to come to argue their cases (see Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.59(2)). After receiving the eviction notice, the tenant will have five days to file an answer with the court. Within the answer, the tenant will provide all the defenses to the eviction. At the hearing, the judge relies on the landlord's complaint and the tenant's answer to decide whether the tenant should be evicted. (See the "Summary procedure section of Florida statutes: Fla. Stat. Ann. § 51.011(1).)

Fighting an eviction will be a cost to the tenant in terms of time and money and is only worth it if the tenant has a solid defense. If the tenant loses the eviction case could end up paying the landlord's court costs and attorneys' fees and receive a negative credit rating. If the tenant only needs a few more days in the lease unit before moving out as per the eviction notice, he should try to reach an agreement with the landlord outside the court system. They can apply for free or low-cost mediation services that handle landlord-tenant differences; local resources are available through the American Arbitration Association, and the website mediate. com.

Defenses Available to the Tenant for Challenging an Eviction in Florida

A tenant has several defenses available for fighting an eviction—some of the legal grounds available to tenants who want to challenge eviction in Florida.

Landlord Used illegal "Self-Help" Eviction actions.

A landlord must not take "self-help" eviction actions such as forcing a tenant out of a rental unit by such means as shutting off the utilities to the rental unit or changing the door locks. A landlord who takes any of these prohibited actions could end up compensating the tenant damages worth up to three months' rent (under "prohibited practices" section of Florida laws: Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.67).

Errors on the Landlord's Eviction Notice or Service

in Florida, landlords must follow solid procedures when creating and delivering eviction notices to tenants. For example, the eviction notice that lacks essential information like the date the tenant must be out of the rental unit, then the eviction notice will not be effective. The landlord may choose to fix the error and resend the eviction notice to the tenant again before the appropriate time period starts running for the tenant to move out.

This defense does not stop an eviction entirely if the landlord is justified in evicting the tenant: It only gives the tenant more time to live in the rental unit before being evicted.

Landlord lacks the Legal Justification to Evict (Overdue Rent)

There are several defenses available to a tenant to fight an eviction for nonpayment of rent.

Tenant Has Fully Paid Late Rent

If a tenant is served a three-day notice to vacate for not paying rent and pays rent in full during the three-day time period, then the landlord can't proceed with the eviction (see Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.56(3)) if the landlord proceeds with the eviction, the tenant may use the payment of rent as a defense.

Tenant's reason for not Paying Rent is Because the Landlord Has Failed to Maintain The lease Unit Premises.

Under the Florida state landlord-tenant statutes, a landlord must comply with all Florida building codes and health codes. If these codes are not followed, then the tenant must notify the landlord in writing of the defect and of the tenant's intent to not pay rent. The tenant must serve the landlord with a seven day notice to fix the defect. If the landlord fails to fix the defect within seven days of receiving the notice, the tenant has cause for not paying rent. The landlord's failure to fix the defect after being given notice by the tenant can be a complete defense to the eviction lawsuit, meaning the landlord will lose the case (see Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.60(1)).

Landlord lacks Legal Justification to Evict (Lease Violation)

If a tenant is violating a term of the lease agreement, the landlord must grant the tenant a chance to fix the violation, if possible, before proceeding with an eviction lawsuit. If the tenant fixes the breach within seven days, the landlord should not proceed with the eviction. If the landlord chooses to proceed with the eviction after the tenant corrects the breach, the tenant can use the fact that the violation was fixed within the time period as a defense to the eviction (see Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.56(2)(b)).

Landlord Is Reacting Against the Tenant

A landlord cannot evict a tenant in Florida in reaction to certain acts the tenant may have done in good faith. According to Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.64, these acts include, but are not limited to:

1. Complaint to a government agency that the landlord violated a building, health, or housing code

2. Participation in a tenants' organization

3. the tenant's complaints to the landlord for not maintaining the rental unit, or

4. termination of the rental agreement because the tenant has been called to active duty in the military (see Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.682).

If the landlord file an eviction lawsuit after the tenant does any of the rights listed above, the tenant may use retaliation as a defense to the eviction lawsuit.

Eviction by discrimination

Both the federal Fair Housing Act and the Florida Fair Housing Act declare it illegal for a landlord to discriminate against a tenant based on origin, race, gender, religion, national, familial status such as pregnant women and children under the age of 18, and disability. If a landlord evicts a tenant in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act or the Florida Fair Housing Act, the tenant has a defense of discrimination against the eviction.