The most common eviction ground. Tenant fails to pay rent by the due date stated in the lease. Florida Statute §83.56(3) governs this ground. Requires a 3-day notice to pay or vacate (business days, excluding weekends and legal holidays) before filing.

Tenant violates a lease term that can be corrected — unauthorized pets, unauthorized occupants, noise complaints, etc. Florida Statute §83.56(2)(b). Requires a 7-day notice to cure or vacate. If corrected within 7 days, the eviction cannot proceed for that incident. If the same violation recurs within 12 months, a 7-day unconditional notice may be issued with no cure opportunity.

Intentional destruction of property, serious disturbances threatening safety, or repeated violations. Florida Statute §83.56(2)(a). Requires a 7-day unconditional quit notice — the tenant has 7 days to vacate with no opportunity to cure. This ground requires the most precise documentation of the specific conduct.

Florida law allows landlords to terminate month-to-month tenancies without cause by providing 30 days' written notice before the end of the rental period. Florida Statute §83.57. Fixed-term leases that have expired without renewal do not typically require advance notice — the lease simply ends on the stated date unless the lease specifies otherwise.

The three days in a 3-day notice are business days — weekends and legal holidays do not count. Counting them incorrectly results in filing too early, which voids the notice. The court will dismiss the case.

Accepting full rent payment during an active non-payment eviction with knowledge of the default waives your right to terminate for that incident under Fla. Stat. §83.56(5)(a). You must restart the process. Do not accept any payment without consulting an attorney about the implications.

Using email when no written email-consent agreement exists, or mailing a notice that requires personal delivery. Each notice type has specific delivery requirements under Florida law. Improper delivery is grounds for dismissal.

The 3-day notice must state the exact amount of rent owed — not an estimated or rounded figure, and not inclusive of late fees or non-rent charges. Including non-rent charges in the notice amount can invalidate it.

Filing the eviction complaint before the 3-day or 7-day period has fully run is a procedural defect that results in dismissal. Verify the exact expiration date and time before filing — the extra day is never worth losing the case.

An uncontested eviction in Palm Beach County typically takes three to five weeks from expiration of the initial notice to sheriff execution of the writ of possession. A contested eviction — where the tenant files a response and requests a hearing — can take six to twelve weeks or longer depending on the court docket. The timeline depends on how quickly court documents are served, whether the tenant contests the filing, and the current caseload of Palm Beach County Civil Court. Every procedural error resets the clock.

Florida Statute §83.56(3) requires landlords to serve a written three-day notice to pay rent or vacate before filing for eviction due to non-payment. The three days are business days and exclude weekends and legal holidays. If the tenant pays all amounts owed within the three-day window, the eviction cannot proceed. If they do not pay or vacate, the landlord may file with the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court. As of July 1, 2025 (HB 615), notices may be delivered by email if both parties agreed in a signed written addendum — but court documents must still be served in person by the sheriff or a certified process server.

No. All residential evictions in Florida must go through the court system. Landlords cannot change the locks, shut off utilities, remove tenant belongings, or physically remove a tenant without a court order and sheriff involvement. Attempting a self-help eviction exposes the landlord to civil liability including actual damages, attorney fees, and potentially a claim for wrongful eviction. The only legal path to regaining possession is completing the full court process and having the Palm Beach County Sheriff execute the writ of possession.

A writ of possession is the final court order in the Florida eviction process. After a judge rules in the landlord's favor, the clerk issues the writ, which is delivered to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff posts a 24-hour notice on the rental property. After 24 hours, if the tenant has not vacated, the sheriff returns to physically remove the tenant and their belongings. The writ of possession is the only legal mechanism for forcing a tenant's physical removal from a Florida rental property.

The most common reasons Florida eviction cases are dismissed include: serving the notice incorrectly, counting weekends in the three-day period, accepting full rent payment after serving the notice, filing before the notice period fully expires, filing with an inaccurate amount owed, including non-rent charges in the three-day notice, and procedural defects in the complaint. Each of these errors requires restarting the process — at minimum costing an additional month of lost rent plus filing fees and legal costs.

Yes. For a curable violation, the landlord serves a seven-day notice to cure specifying the violation and giving seven days to correct it. If corrected, the eviction cannot proceed for that incident. If the same or similar violation recurs within 12 months, a seven-day unconditional quit notice may be issued with no cure opportunity. For incurable violations — intentional property damage, serious disturbances, or first-offense violations that cannot reasonably be cured — a seven-day unconditional quit notice may be served immediately, directing the tenant to vacate within seven days.