EVICTION NOTICES

FLORIDA. WE HAVE BEEN LIVING IN A PLACE FOR 4 MONTHS AND MY HUSBAND LOST HIS JOB.WE ARE LATE WITH THIS MONTH'S RENT AND OUR LANDLORD STATES" IF YOU DO NOT PAY RENT THIS WEEKEND I WILL FILE EVICTION NOTICE ON MONDAY AND YOU HAVE 5 DAYS TO GET OUT". IS THIS LEGAL? I THOUGHT WE HAD 30 DAYS TO GET OUT IF EVICTED.

I'm not sure what your LL is referring to. If you fail to pay rent, your LL can serve you with a 3 day Pay or Quit notice (i assume he has given you this). After it expires, he can go file for eviction. A court hearing will be set to allow a judge to rule on the eviction. If possession is granted to your LL, which it probably will be if rent is not paid, the court will decide how long you have to move. Perhaps 5 days is the normal time a judge would give you to move out after an eviction is ruled against you in your area?

You seldom are given 30 days to vacate after possession is granted to a LL. In many places, you are only given about 7 at most (more or less in some areas). If you are not out by that time, the sheriff or bailiff removes your belongings and sets them at the curb.

You never have 30 days to move out in Florida. (That's just the national average.) If you have no lease and are a month to month tenant, the LL can always ask you to move out (for any or no reason) in only 15 days in your state.

My suggestion is to borrow the rent money to pay him, or move out before the Pay or Quit expires. Once filed, the eviction will continue to show up on your court records. It will prevent you from getting housing later.