A commercial eviction in Florida is a court process governed by Part I of Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes. The landlord serves a written notice, files a complaint in county court if the tenant does not pay or cure, obtains a judgment, and has the sheriff execute a writ of possession. The lease itself controls most of the details — notice periods, delivery method, what counts as a default — wherever it addresses them, and the statute fills the gaps when it does not.
Start With the Lease, Not the Statute
Florida law gives commercial lease provisions priority over statutory defaults whenever the two overlap.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.20 – Causes for Removal of Tenants The notice period, method of delivery, the definition of “default,” and the cure window can all be set by the lease. The statute’s defaults apply only when the lease is silent or the tenancy is an oral month-to-month arrangement.
This is where cases go sideways. A landlord who sends a generic 3-day notice without checking whether the lease requires, say, 10 days’ written notice by certified mail to a named address has handed the tenant a procedural defense before the case even begins. Match every step to what the lease says.
The Three Grounds for Removing a Commercial Tenant
Section 83.20 authorizes removal in three situations:1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.20 – Causes for Removal of Tenants
- The tenant holds over after the lease term ends without the landlord’s permission. The statute requires no advance notice for this ground, though the lease may.
- The tenant fails to pay rent when due and does not pay or vacate within three days of a written demand.
- The tenant materially breaches a non-monetary term — unauthorized use, unapproved alterations, and so on — and does not cure or leave within 15 days of written notice. This 15-day default applies only when the lease is silent.
When a tenant holds over without permission, the landlord can also demand double the monthly rent for each month the tenant stays. That remedy is separate from the eviction itself and can be demanded month by month.2The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.06 – Right to Demand Double Rent Upon Refusal to Deliver Possession
Notice Requirements
Three-Day Notice for Unpaid Rent
When rent is missed, the landlord serves a written notice demanding the tenant either pay or surrender possession, giving at least three days to respond.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.20 – Causes for Removal of Tenants The commercial statute says “3 days” without specifying whether weekends and holidays are excluded. The residential statute excludes them; the commercial version does not. Practitioners disagree on how to count, and the safest approach is to allow extra time rather than gamble on a defective notice.
Although the statute does not require a specific dollar figure, courts expect the demand to identify the amount owed clearly enough that the tenant knows exactly what to pay. A vague notice invites a challenge.
Fifteen-Day Notice for Other Breaches
For non-monetary defaults, Section 83.20(3) sets a 15-day written notice describing the breach and demanding cure or surrender.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.20 – Causes for Removal of Tenants A longer cure period is fine; a shorter one is not. Again, this is the default. Where the lease sets its own cure procedure, the lease governs.
Delivering the Notice
The delivery method depends on the ground and on what the lease says. For a nonpayment notice, the statute allows hand delivery to the tenant or, if the tenant is absent, leaving a copy at the premises. For a non-monetary breach, and only if the lease does not prescribe a method, service can be made by mail, hand delivery, or posting.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.20 – Causes for Removal of Tenants Many commercial leases require certified mail to a designated address. Follow the lease exactly and document delivery with an affidavit or certificate of service. A notice served the wrong way is no notice at all.
Do Not Cash a Rent Check After Serving Notice
Accepting full payment after serving a nonpayment notice waives the right to proceed on that default. Florida applies both the statutory rule and the common-law principle that conduct can waive a breach. Landlords who serve a notice and then cash a rent check out of habit reset the clock and have to start over.
Do Not Change the Locks
Self-help is not a shortcut. Section 83.05(2) limits a commercial landlord to three ways to regain possession: a court action under Section 83.20, the tenant’s voluntary surrender, or abandonment.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 83 – Landlord and Tenant Nothing else is on that list. Locking a tenant out, cutting utilities, or hauling out inventory exposes the landlord to claims for lost business income, damaged goods, and potentially punitive damages. The cost of a wrongful lockout almost always exceeds the cost of doing the eviction properly.
Going to Court
Filing the Complaint
Once the notice period runs out without payment or cure, the landlord files a complaint in the county court where the property sits. Section 83.21 requires the complaint to describe the premises and state the facts justifying removal, and it entitles the landlord to summary procedure under Section 51.011, which compresses the timeline.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 83 – Landlord and Tenant The statutory filing fee for a removal-of-tenant action is $180, though county surcharges and summons fees push the total higher, and adding a claim for unpaid rent or damages increases the fee based on the amount sought.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 34.041 – Filing Fees for Trial and Appellate Proceedings
The Tenant Has Five Days to Answer
After service of the summons and complaint, the tenant has five days to file a written answer containing all defenses.5The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 51.011 – Summary Procedure That is far shorter than the 20-day period in ordinary civil cases, and it catches many tenants by surprise. No answer means the landlord moves for a clerk’s default and usually gets a final judgment for possession without a hearing.
Rent Must Be Deposited Into the Court Registry
A tenant who wants to defend must also deposit the unpaid rent alleged in the complaint into the court registry by the date the answer is due, and keep depositing rent as it comes due during the case. Filing a counterclaim does not excuse the deposit. Missing the deposit is treated as a complete waiver of all defenses, and the landlord gets an immediate default judgment for possession without a hearing.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.232 – Rent Paid Into Registry of Court For tenants who cannot afford to pay disputed rent into the registry, this rule effectively decides the case.
The Writ of Possession
Once judgment is entered for the landlord, the clerk issues a writ of possession directing the sheriff to restore possession. The sheriff posts a 24-hour notice on the premises; weekends and holidays do not pause the clock. If the tenant is still there when the 24 hours run out, the sheriff removes them and the landlord can change the locks. The landlord or the landlord’s agent can move any personal property found on the premises to or near the property line at the time of execution, and neither the sheriff nor the landlord is liable for loss or damage to that property afterward.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.62 – Restoration of Possession to Landlord Sheriff’s fees to execute the writ vary by county but typically run around $90.8Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Civil Procedures
What Else the Landlord Can Collect
Acceleration Clauses
Many commercial leases contain an acceleration clause that makes all remaining rent due immediately on default. Florida courts enforce these clauses but treat them as a timing tool, not a windfall. If the landlord retakes possession and relets the space, the accelerated amount must be reduced by what the landlord recovers or could reasonably recover through reletting. Courts commonly reserve jurisdiction to calculate the final credit, so a landlord who accelerates and then leaves the unit vacant may recover far less than the balance on paper.
Personal Guarantees
When the tenant is an LLC or corporation, the lease often includes a personal guarantee signed by an owner. That guarantee is a separate obligation, letting the landlord pursue the individual for unpaid rent, property damage, and other lease amounts. In Florida, a written guarantee carries a five-year statute of limitations. Whether the landlord can sue the guarantor directly or must first exhaust remedies against the entity depends on whether the guarantee is drafted as absolute or conditional. A guarantor who signed in an unclear capacity, such as “Manager” without an individual identification, may have a defense that no personal liability was assumed.
Attorney Fees
Part I of Chapter 83, which covers commercial tenancies, has no attorney fee provision of its own. Recovery of legal costs turns on the lease. Most commercial leases include a fee clause, and under Florida law even a one-sided clause becomes reciprocal in litigation, so either party can recover fees if they prevail. If the lease is silent on fees, each side pays its own absent some other basis for an award.
Tenant Defenses That Actually Work
Commercial tenants have fewer defenses than residential ones, but some carry weight. The most common is a defective notice: wrong delivery method, missing information, or a cure window shorter than the lease or statute requires. Courts dismiss eviction complaints over these errors routinely.
Constructive eviction is available where the landlord’s failure to maintain the premises made the space essentially unusable. To succeed, the tenant generally has to show the landlord’s breach seriously interfered with the intended use and that the tenant actually vacated within a reasonable time. A tenant who stays and keeps operating will have trouble arguing the space was unusable.
Every defense still runs into Section 83.232. Even a legitimate counterclaim — say, for the landlord’s failure to make repairs — does not relieve the tenant of the obligation to deposit rent.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.232 – Rent Paid Into Registry of Court Miss the deposit and the defenses go with it.
Property Left Behind After the Eviction
Belongings left in the space cannot simply be thrown out. Florida’s Disposition of Personal Property Landlord and Tenant Act requires written notice to the former tenant describing the abandoned items and giving a deadline to reclaim. The deadline is at least 10 days if the notice is delivered personally and at least 15 days if mailed.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 715.105 – Form of Notice Concerning Abandoned Property to Former Tenant The landlord can charge reasonable storage costs during that window.
If the tenant does not reclaim on time, the next step depends on value. Property the landlord reasonably believes is worth less than $500 can be kept, sold, or discarded at the landlord’s discretion. Property worth $500 or more must be sold at a public auction after two consecutive weeks of published advertisement. Sale proceeds cover storage and advertising costs first, and any balance goes to the county, where the former tenant can claim it for up to one year.10Florida Senate. Florida Code 715.109 – Sale or Disposition of Abandoned Property
One exception matters. If the lease or a separate written agreement addresses the disposition of property left after surrender or abandonment, the statutory notice process may not apply. Many commercial leases waive the tenant’s rights under Section 715.104, which eliminates the landlord’s storage and notification duties entirely.