Thousands of Floridians could be facing eviction on July 2.
Governor Ron DeSantis has extended the states moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures twice. The current one runs through July 1.
So that means on July 2, private landlords can start filing evictions for non-payment of rent. Across Florida, more than 2,600 evictions across are waiting to be processed if this moratorium isn’t extended.
This all comes at time when the state is seeing record highs in unemployment.
“So before you can actually get served with an eviction summons their landlord has to give them a notice,” says Stephanie Johnson, the managing attorney for Legal Services of North Florida. “Usually for the non-payment cases it’s a three-day notice. Meaning you have three days to pay all of this rent or else you have to vacate. So as soon as you get a three day notice they should be talking to an attorney because attorneys are also going to be able to direct them to the agencies and resources.”
If a tenant was unable to pay rent in previous months, all that back rent is also due on July 2 if this moratorium isn’t extended.
“The moratorium doesn’t stay their obligation to pay rent it just doesn’t let the landlords file evictions,” said Johnson. “So people need to keep paying their rent. And they need to right now especially work out payment plans with their landlords. There are a lot of resources out there that are offering rental assistance right now.”
See below for more information on how to navigate the eviction process.
Current Moratorium Client Information
Eviction Moratorium and Deadlines
Public Housing Information
Tenant Rights/Evictions (English)
Tenant Rights/Evictions (Español)
Post Moratorium & General Tenant Rights Information (after July 1)
7 Tips for Tenants/Renters
Video on Tenant Rights (by LSNF attorneys)
General Eviction Information
https://evictionlab.org (rankings show where TLH is)
https://evictioninnovation.org
Other Materials
Video on Elder Abuse
Other materials on COVID/Legal Help
