KEY BENEFITS OF USING AN ATTORNEY:

The Law Offices of Nicholas Felzen, P.A. can provide you with a Miami Real Estate Attorney to review the lease and all the facts concerning any lease violation. This office will prepare all statutory notices and prepare all pleadings and motions to pursue the eviction.

While Landlords or Property Managers can handle the eviction process without a lawyer, it is not advisable to do so; (please note that some Courts require Corporate Entities be represented by counsel).  The Eviction process has very specific rules and procedures that need to be followed 100% to successfully remove a tenant. If not handled correctly, the eviction can take a much longer time to complete or may even be dismissed. The resulting delays can be much more costly to the Landlord than hiring a lawyer to properly handle the matter.

HOW TO SERVE

The Landlord or Property Manager may either hand the Notice to an adult who lives at the property and is named under the lease OR Post the Notice on the door of the property.

A proper 3 day Notice is crucial to a successful Eviction Action. Make sure to address all adult occupants under the lease in the Notice. Date the Notice on the day that you serve it. Fill in the exact amount of Rent owed. Fill in the expiration day but remember that the Notice does not count the day of delivery and will expire on the 3^rd business day which excludes Saturdays, Sundays and Legal Holidays. Remember to fill out the Certificate of Service upon posting the Notice. Copy the Notice and keep the Original in your files. Post the Copy of the Notice on tenant's door. 

IF THE TENANT

The Tenant has the absolute right to pay you the FULL amount of rent due within the time frame of the 3 business day notice. You must accept the rent if it is offered to you within the 3 day period and if it is a FULL payment offer. If the 3 day time period expires or it’s only a partial payment offer, you can refuse the rent payment offer. Please note that once payment is accepted, landlord may have waived his rights to evict the tenant until the next non-payment period.

HOW TO PLACE CLAIM ON SECURITY DEPOSIT:

Florida Statute 83.49 governs the way the way in which a Landlord of a Residential Lease may impose a claim on the security deposit. Upon the Tenant’s vacating of the premises for termination of the lease, if the Landlord intends to impose a claim on the Security Deposit, the Landlord has 30 days to give the Tenant written Notice by certified mail to the Tenant’s last known mailing address notifying the Tenant of the Landlord’s intention to impose a claim on the deposit. 

Cases can be won or lost based on photos and other evidence that show the condition of the property upon the lease commencement and lease maturity dates. So always take photos of the unit at the lease commencement and lease maturity dates.

Florida Statute 83.49 provides attorney's fees and court costs to the prevailing party for Security Deposit cases that end up in Court. This law helps provide Tenants the ability to file a case against the landlord without being overly concerned about how to recover fees and costs. As Security Deposit amounts are typically lower than $5,000, Security Deposit cases usually are filed in Small Claims Court where they are sometimes filed as a Statement of Claim (Return of Security Deposit).

In the Commercial Lease situation, the Florida Statutes are silent on the issue of Security Deposits, therefore, one must look at the Commercial Lease to determine the proper procedure that the parties must follow regarding the Security Deposit dispute.

So if you are a Miami tenant and you believe that your security deposit was wrongfully withheld and you want to discuss your Miami security deposit dispute, please call us for a consultation so that we can try to help you recover your security deposit.

TENANT'S USE OF THE 7 DAY NOTICE TO LANDLORD FOR LANDLORD'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN THE PREMISES:

Under Florida Statute 83.51, the Residential Landlord is obligated to maintain the premises and comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing and health codes and pursuant to Florida Statute 83.56, if the Landlord materially fails to comply with Florida Statute 83.51 or with material provisions of the Lease, then the Tenant may send the Landlord a 7 day notice in writing that specifies the noncompliance and indicates the intention of the tenant to terminate the Lease if the Landlord fails to cure the noncompliance issues within 7 days of receiving the notice (and when the  landlord's failure to comply renders the dwelling unit uninhabitable) OR if the landlord's failure to comply does not render the dwelling unit uninhabitable and the tenant remains in occupancy, the rent for the period of noncompliance shall be reduced by an amount in proportion to the loss of rental value caused by the noncompliance. I always recommend that the 7 day notice be sent by certified mail to the landlord in order to show proof of receipt. Please note that the 7 day notice may or may not resolve your issue(s) and depending on your facts and your risk tolerance, you may end up in Court where different outcomes may occur.

LANDLORDS NEED TO BE AWARE OF FLORIDA STATUTE 718.116(11): 

If the Landlord owns a property in an Association, and if the Landlord is delinquent in paying any monetary obligation due to the association, the association may make a written demand that the tenant pay the future monetary obligations related to the condominium unit to the association, and the tenant must make such payment...A tenant who acts in good faith in response to a written demand from an association is immune from a claim for non-payment of rent from the unit owner.

TITLE VII-PROTECTING TENANTS AT FORECLOSURE ACT:

The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act has been restored pursuant to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018. Now the purchaser of the Certificate of Title may need to comply with the 90 day notice requirement. Call the Law Offices of Nicholas Felzen, P.A. for help on these matters. 

POST FORECLOSURE EVICTIONS

When a person or company places a bid on a foreclosure sale and wins the bidding auction, that person receives a Certificate of Title. If any occupants still remain on the property after the Certificate of Title is issued, we help the new owner comply with the 90 day notice required by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 and with the Motion for Writ of Possession & Writ of Possession so that the new Owner can have the occupants legally removed from the property. Please note that the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 was  restored in May of 2018 and that is why the new owners must now provide the Tenants from the Foreclosure a 90 day notice before the filing of a Motion for Writ of Possession.

  THE CITY OF MIAMI NOW OFFERS A 30-DAY NOTICE FOR MONTH-TO-MONTH TENANTS

On June 8, 2017, Commissioners for the City of Miami passed an Ordinance requiring at least a 30-day written notice terminating a month to month tenancy without a specific duration. It's important that both Landlords and Tenants understand this new Ordinance completely in order to avoid legal pitfalls. We can help explain this new Ordinance and draft the notice that complies with same. We can also help City of Miami Tenants try and defend their cases in situations where the Landlord used the wrong notice.

REAL ESTATE SELLERS SHOULD CONSIDER HIRING A REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY TO REVIEW THE PURCHASE & SALE CONTRACT, THE HUD-1 SETTLEMENT STATEMENT AND DRAFT THE SELLER'S DOCUMENTS.

Our office has experience representing the Seller in real estate transactions. Remember, the Title Company does not represent you because in South Florida, most Buyers select the Title Company so the Title Company really represents the Buyer. Therefore, as a Seller, it's probably better to hire a Seller's Attorney to help answer your questions and to make sure that the Seller gets everything that the Seller is entitled. Check out www.felzenlaw.com for more information about Real Estate Transactions.

REAL ESTATE BUYERS SHOULD ALWAYS GET AN ASSIGNMENT OF LEASE & SECURITY DEPOSIT IN THEIR CLOSINGS INVOLVING PROPERTIES WITH TENANTS:

Our office always advises real estate buyers purchasing properties with tenants to make sure they have written assignment of leases and security deposits to ensure and dignify their new status as Landlord and to help facilitate and clarify their relations with the tenants.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that will reduce the tax on Commercial leases in Florida.

House Bill 7123, known as the Business Rent Tax, lowers the Commercial Lease Tax by .2 percent to 5.5% from 5.7%. The tax reduction becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2020. Please note that the Miami-Dade County surtax will remain at 1% and is added to the aforementioned Commercial Lease Tax/Sales Tax.

Call the Law Offices of Nicholas Felzen, P.A. for questions/consultations regarding the Miami Eviction Process, Commercial Lease Negotiations and any other questions involving Real Estate.