I am a real estate and landlord tenant lawyer located in Venice, Florida. I routinely assist residential and commercial landlords evict tenants in Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte County. I take great pride in assisting these clients get possession of their property back.
I have also removed occupants from property under a variety of circumstances that don’t necessarily fall under landlord tenant law.
Occasionally, I meet a property owner that wants to remove someone that is not a tenant.
Often this is a situation where you have invited someone into your home and allowed them to stay as a guest, only to later find out that the person does not want to leave even after you have asked them to. These are typically domestic disputes involving ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, adult children, extended family, or friends.
These can be delicate situations with the root cause being alcohol and drug abuse. Unfortunately, the police are unable to remove these unwanted guests, and at first glance the legal system does not provide a clear solution for these kinds of problems, because they cannot be solved with a typical eviction.
Thankfully, there is a remedy, and I routinely represent clients in removing unwanted occupants from their homes in these exact situations.
Unlawful Detainer Actions
Your first move might be to try and file for eviction. Unfortunately, filing for eviction won’t work in this scenario because a prerequisite to an eviction is a landlord/tenant relationship. That relationship is only created when someone is paying money to stay somewhere.
A guest or squatter isn’t paying to stay at your house, so they aren’t technically a tenant and there isn’t that landlord/tenant relationship that you need to file an eviction. Remember that Florida recognizes oral leases, so if you have an oral agreement with someone to pay rent in exchange for living at your house then an eviction will be the proper cause of action. But if the person never paid rent, then an eviction is not the way to get them out of your house.
Instead, you will want to file something called an Unlawful Detainer. Unlawful detainer lawsuits are designed for situations where land is being “unlawfully detained”.
Unlawful detainer lawsuits share some procedural similarities to an eviction. Both are filed in County Court. The Plaintiff in an unlawful detainer lawsuit is entitled to the same expedited procedure for an eviction found in Florida Statute 51.011. This means that the defendant has to respond within 5 days (rather than the typical 20 days) otherwise you will be entitled to a default judgment.
Also, both eviction and unlawful detainer lawsuits seek the same relief: a judgment for possession that allows you to get a writ of possession that you can take to the Sheriff’s Office so that the Sheriff can remove the unwanted guest. The nice thing about an unlawful detainer is that there is no need for a pre-suit 3-day or 7-day notice like with an eviction.
The secret to successfully litigating an unlawful detainer case is spending the time up front to ensure the case is set up properly. The defendant may try to allege that a lease does exist, and therefore the unlawful detainer lawsuit should be thrown out for failure to state a proper cause of action. Or perhaps the defendant is alleging that they own part of the house. Careful preparation and a lawyer that knows what questions to ask can avoid these kinds of situations.
How Long Does an Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit Take?
There answer here is that it really depends, but on average you are looking at anywhere from 3-5 weeks. This timeline is on par with the time it takes to handle an eviction in Florida. Of course there are exceptional situations where the matter can take longer.
The biggest factors will be whether the defendant responds to the lawsuit, the defenses the defendant raises (if any), and the Judge.
How Much Does an Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit Cost?
I obviously can’t speak for other lawyers, but I typically handle these matters on a flat fee basis and charge around $1200 for a 1 defendant unlawful detainer suit. The filing fee for an unlawful detainer suit is typically higher than a standard eviction. The flat fee covers everything from the initial consultation through obtaining a Judgment for Possession assuming there is no Court appearance.
Different counties have different filing fees for unlawful detainer actions so that will affect the price, which is why I quote a range. Also, adding additional defendants will raise the cost (typically, $50 per person for the additional summons and filing fee).
Unlawful Detainer Actions – Final Thoughts
I hope this article on unlawful detainer lawsuits has been helpful.
If you are a property owner in Sarasota, Manatee, or Charlotte County and you are having problems with a tenant, guest, or squatter I am happy to discuss the case with you and help you determine the best strategy for removing them. Feel free to call my office at 941-882-4367.
