The Broward County eviction process is a Florida-statute sequence that runs from a written pre-filing notice, through a complaint filed with the Broward County Clerk of Courts, to a Sheriff-executed writ of possession. An uncontested case usually takes three to six weeks from filing to physical removal. A contested case can stretch to two or three months, sometimes longer. Every step has strict timing, and a mistake in the first notice is the fastest way to lose the case and start over.
Start With the Correct Written Notice
Nothing gets filed in court until the tenant has received the right written notice for the right reason. Three notice types cover almost every residential situation.
For unpaid rent, the landlord delivers a three-day notice that states the exact dollar amount owed and gives the tenant three days to pay or move out.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement Those three days exclude the day of delivery, weekends, and court-observed holidays. A vague demand for “all past-due rent” won’t hold up; the number must be specific.
For lease violations other than rent, Florida uses two versions of a seven-day notice. If the violation can be fixed — an unauthorized pet, a parking issue — the tenant gets seven days to cure. A repeat of the same type of violation within 12 months lets the landlord skip the cure period. If the violation can’t be undone, such as intentional damage or serious misuse of the premises, the seven-day notice simply tells the tenant to vacate with no chance to cure.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement
To end a month-to-month tenancy without any specific violation, the landlord must give at least 30 days’ written notice before the end of a monthly rental period.2Justia Law. Florida Code 83.57 – Termination of Tenancy Without Specific Term No reason is required. For a tenancy ending June 30, the notice has to reach the tenant by June 1.
All of these notices can be delivered by mail, personal hand delivery, email if the tenant has agreed to electronic communication, or by leaving a copy at the residence when the tenant is absent.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement The lease cannot waive the requirement. Keep proof of delivery. Without it, there’s no evidence the clock ever started.
File the Complaint With the Broward County Clerk
Once the notice period expires and the tenant hasn’t complied, the landlord prepares a Complaint for Eviction and files it with the Broward County Clerk of the Courts. The complaint identifies the parties, states the property address, and explains the legal basis for the eviction. A copy of the written lease and the pre-filing notice should be attached. A summons is prepared alongside the complaint to formally notify the tenant that a lawsuit exists.
The Broward County Clerk’s office publishes eviction-specific forms on its website.3Broward County Clerk of Courts. Tenant Eviction Forms Most filers submit electronically through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, though in-person filing at the courthouse is available.4Florida Courts Help. Filing Your Forms The filing fee for a residential eviction is $185.5Broward County Clerk of Courts. Fees and Costs
Serving the Tenant and the Five-Day Clock
After the Clerk issues the summons, the complaint and summons must be formally delivered through service of process. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office or a certified private process server handles this, and the server files an affidavit confirming the tenant received the papers.
From the date of service, the tenant has five business days — excluding weekends and legal holidays — to file a written response with the court. In a case based on unpaid rent, the tenant must also deposit the full amount of rent claimed in the complaint into the court registry when they file their answer. Failing to deposit that rent, or to file a motion asking the court to determine the correct amount, waives every defense except that the rent was already paid.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession; Procedure That requirement catches many tenants off guard. A strong defense evaporates if the money doesn’t go into the registry on time.
If the Tenant Doesn’t Respond
If the five business days pass without a written response or the required rent deposit, the landlord asks the Clerk for a default and then files a Motion for Final Judgment. Once a judge signs it, the eviction is granted. This is the fast path, and it’s how most Broward County evictions end. From initial filing through judgment, an uncontested case commonly takes three to six weeks, depending on how quickly service is completed and where the case sits on the court’s docket.
If the Tenant Does Respond
A timely answer moves the case out of the default track and toward a hearing. The court sets a date for both sides to present evidence. Contested cases can involve motions, document requests, and sometimes court-ordered mediation, and they realistically run two to three months or longer.
Common tenant defenses under Florida law include the landlord’s failure to maintain the property in a habitable condition (which requires the tenant to have sent a written seven-day notice before withholding rent), retaliatory eviction for complaints about code violations or participation in tenant activities, and defects in the pre-filing notice itself.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession; Procedure7Justia Law. Florida Code 83.64 – Retaliatory Conduct A defective notice usually delays a case rather than killing it, because the court must give the landlord a chance to correct the pleading.
Throughout a contested case, the tenant has to keep depositing rent into the court registry as it comes due. Stop paying into the registry, and the court treats that as an abandonment of defenses. The landlord is then entitled to an immediate default judgment for possession.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession; Procedure
The Writ of Possession and Physical Removal
After the court enters final judgment for the landlord, the Clerk issues a Writ of Possession directing the Broward County Sheriff to restore the property to the landlord.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.62 – Restoration of Possession to Landlord The landlord delivers the writ to the Sheriff’s Office with an execution fee. A deputy posts a 24-hour notice on the property. Weekends and holidays don’t pause that clock. Once it’s posted, it runs continuously.
If the occupants remain after 24 hours, the Sheriff returns to physically remove them. At that point the landlord or the landlord’s agent can move any personal property left behind to or near the property line. The landlord can ask the Sheriff to stand by while the locks are changed, at an hourly rate. After the writ is executed, neither the Sheriff nor the landlord is liable for loss or damage to the removed personal property.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.62 – Restoration of Possession to Landlord
What It Costs and How Long It Really Takes
The direct costs stack up across several stages:
- Court filing fee of $185 for the initial complaint.5Broward County Clerk of Courts. Fees and Costs
- A service-of-process fee payable to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office or a private process server for each defendant. Contact the Sheriff’s Civil Division or the process server for current rates.
- A separate Sheriff fee to execute the writ of possession.
- Attorney fees, which are optional but common. Many Broward County eviction attorneys handle uncontested cases on a flat fee.
Timeline-wise, three to six weeks is realistic for an uncontested case from filing to physical removal. A contested case with a tenant answer and defenses runs two to three months or more. Delays in serving the tenant, court scheduling, and motion practice all push the end date out. Shortcutting the notice step almost always forces a restart of the whole process.
Two Situations That Change the Picture
Even after possession is restored, the security deposit has its own deadlines. If the landlord returns the full deposit with no deductions, it must be sent within 15 days after the tenancy ends. If the landlord intends to withhold any amount, the landlord has 30 days to send the tenant a written notice by certified mail or authorized email listing the specific deductions and reasons. The tenant then has 15 days to object. Missing the 30-day deadline forfeits the right to claim any part of the deposit, even if the property was legitimately damaged.9Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent
Active-duty military tenants are covered by the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A landlord cannot evict a servicemember without a court order when the property is the servicemember’s primary residence and the monthly rent falls below a federally set threshold that adjusts annually. As of 2025, that threshold was approximately $10,240 per month.10Creech Air Force Base. Legal Brief – Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) When military duties have materially affected the servicemember’s ability to pay, a court can halt the eviction for up to 90 days or adjust the lease terms. Given the military presence across South Florida, verifying a tenant’s status before filing is worth the extra minute.