Florida’s county clerks publish packets of court forms for landlords who file residential evictions without a lawyer. This article shows how the clerks describe the eviction process in their own words, which notices their packets include, and the filing steps they publish, using Pasco County’s materials as the example. Every quotation comes directly from a clerk’s own published materials, and the numbered notes at the end link to each original so you can read them for yourself.
The information that follows is taken directly from legal documents published by Florida county clerks. It is provided for educational purposes only and does not represent legal advice or the legal opinions of the author.
What the Pasco County packet covers
The Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller describes its eviction packet as “a basic landlord/tenant eviction packet approved by the Court.” According to the Clerk, “All forms are derived either from Supreme Court-promulgated forms or Sixth Judicial Circuit Court-approved forms,” and “Forms are subject to change without notice by the Court.”¹
All 67 counties have similar packets, and if you need help completing the forms there’s a link at the bottom of this article to Form America’s LandlordTenantForms.com site. We’re authorized as a non-attorney form prep company by the Florida Supreme Court to help landlords complete these packets accurately and provide filing instructions.
The county packet’s instructions are headed “LANDLORD AND TENANT EVICTION FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY ONLY.” They state that the forms “should be used only for residential leases” and that anyone with “a commercial, agricultural or personal property lease” should consult an attorney. According to the instructions, “The residential landlord/tenant relationship is controlled by the terms of your lease and by Part II of Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes. The procedures for enforcing your rights under your lease and Part II of Chapter 83 are set forth in section 51.011, Florida Statutes.”²
The Clerk’s FAQ adds that a residential landlord/tenant action “applies to the rental of noncommercial dwelling unit with or without a rental agreement.”³ For situations with no agreement to pay rent, the clerks publish separate unlawful detainer packets, covered in our article on eviction and unlawful detainer. We have a separate article on “unlawful detainer” which is a separate forms packet for a separate purpose, distinct from eviction.
The notice that comes first
The Pasco instructions state, “Before you can start a lawsuit to end a residential lease or withhold rental payments, you must first give proper written notice. The form of the notice will depend on the landlord or tenant’s reason for terminating the lease or withholding rent.”²
The instructions name two common reasons for a landlord to end a lease and evict: “The tenant has not paid rent on time” and “The tenant has not complied with the requirements of the lease or has violated Florida Statutes.” The packet includes a notice form for each, titled “Notice from Landlord to Tenant – Termination for Failure to Pay Rent” and “Notice from Landlord to Tenant – Termination for Non-Compliance Other than Failure to Pay Rent.”² Pasco’s packet also lists a “Landlord Tenant Eviction Non-Payment of Rent Flowchart” among its forms.⁴
The Clerk’s FAQ says that when you file, you should “Include a copy of the notice you provided the tenant.”³
The Pasco County process, step by step
The sequence below follows the Pasco Clerk’s packet instructions and its FAQ on landlord/tenant evictions, and each description is quoted from them.² ³
Step One: File the complaint. The FAQ says “You must determine, prepare, and file the appropriate complaint with the Clerk & Comptroller. The complaint filed will be based on the actions you wish taken by the Court (for example: possession of the property, demand for rent due, etc.).”³ The packet instructions describe the choice of complaint forms: “One form contains a complaint both for eviction and for damages for unpaid rent. If the landlord wants to evict the tenant for breaches of the lease other than failure to pay rent, the suit may be for eviction only.”²
The packet’s fee page lists “$185 – County Court Landlord Tenant Actions with no damages (non-monetary),” “$300 – County Court Landlord Tenant Actions with damages up to $15,000,” and $400 for larger claims. It adds “a $10 fee to issue any summons” per defendant, with “An additional $7” if the Clerk prepares the summons.² Fees can change, and the Clerk’s current fee schedule lists the latest amounts.
Step Two: Serve the tenant. In the instructions’ words, “At the time the complaint is filed the landlord must ask the clerk of the court to issue summonses and deliver those summonses to the process server, with a copy of the complaint, for service on the tenant.”² The packet asks for “Originals for filing and one set of copies per defendant for services and one set of copies along with preaddressed stamped envelopes per defendant for certificate of mailing.”²
Step Three: The tenant’s response. The FAQ states that “The tenant must comply with the instructions on the summons and file an original answer to your summons with the Clerk & Comptroller with copies to you within five days of receipt of the summons, not including weekends or legal holidays.”³ It then describes two paths.
- If the tenant responds, “The defendant may file an answer to your complaint/summons and deposit rent monies into the Court Registry. You then will need to set your case for a hearing with the Court.” The FAQ adds, “You will need to bring a blank copy of a judgment to the hearing for the Court’s ruling and signature.”³
- If the tenant does not respond, “you may complete and file with the Clerk & Comptroller a Motion for Clerk & Comptroller’s Default and the appropriate judgment form.” The FAQ says “The Court will either set the case for hearing or grant the landlord possession of the property.”³
Step Four: Obtain the Writ of Possession. The instructions state, “Should a landlord receive a final judgment for eviction he/she must ask the clerk of the court to execute a Writ of Possession. The Writ of Possession should be delivered to the sheriff for service on the tenant after execution by the clerk.”² According to the FAQ, “You must remit a fee of $90 made payable to the Pasco County Sheriff,” and “The Sheriff’s Office will contact you and post the writ on the property.”³
The packet also covers matters that can follow an eviction. It includes a “Notice of Intention to Impose Claim on Security Deposit,” and the instructions state that “To keep the security deposit the landlord must send a notice to the tenant.”² It also includes an Affidavit of Damages and a separate Final Judgment for damages.
Other Florida counties publish similar packets
Florida has 67 counties, each with its own Clerk of Court, and clerks around the state publish residential eviction packets and instructions of their own. Several cite the same statute, Chapter 83, and use similar form titles. Some clerks publish additional details on their websites.
- Hillsborough County. The Clerk’s residential eviction page notes that “Litigation forms and instructions are provided by the Florida Supreme Court for use by persons not represented by legal counsel.” It states that before filing for non-payment, “The written notice must state that the tenant has three (3) business days to pay rent or vacate the premises listed,” and that “The three (3) business days exclude Saturday, Sunday, and observed legal holidays.”⁵ The Clerk’s eviction overview describes the first step as a “Landlord 3-day notice (Notice from Landlord to Tenant/Termination for Failing to Pay Rent) to Tenant.”⁶
- Pinellas County. The Clerk’s Self Help Centers offer attorney consultations “for a minimum of $15” for landlord/tenant matters, limited to “Landlord / Tenant (Non-Payment Rent only)” cases. The Clerk notes that the consultation “is limited to assistance with court-approved forms and procedural information.”⁷
- Duval County. The Clerk’s County Civil page states that “The landlord must provide a (3)three-day notice of eviction, informing the tenant(s) that he or she must pay the rent due or move out of the premises,” and that “If the tenant does not respond, you may complete and file a motion for default, a motion for final judgment and the final judgment, provided in the Landlord/Tenant packet.”⁸ The Clerk’s residential eviction packet opens with the definition “A tenant eviction is the legal procedure a landlord must follow to have a tenant removed from the landlord’s property.”⁹
The details vary from county to county, including fees and copy counts. Each clerk publishes its packet for cases filed in that county, and clerks revise their forms from time to time.
Need help completing the forms?
If you’ve reviewed your county’s packet and want help preparing the paperwork, Form America LLC, the publisher of this site, offers flat-rate form completion and filing instructions for landlord-tenant eviction forms in all 67 Florida counties at LandlordTenantForms.com. You supply the facts, and Form America types them into your county’s forms and tells you how to file them. Before any work begins, you and the preparer sign a Disclosure from Nonlawyer. Form America is not a law firm and cannot tell you which notice or complaint fits your situation. If you aren’t sure, the clerks recommend consulting an attorney.
Notes
- Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, Eviction Packet
- Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, Landlord and Tenant Information and Instructions
- Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, Frequently Asked Questions: Civil – Landlord/tenant evictions
- Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, Appendix: Forms to use with Landlord/Tenant Eviction
- Hillsborough County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, Residential Property Eviction
- Hillsborough County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, Eviction Process
- Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Self Help Center
- Duval County Clerk of Courts, County Civil
- Duval County Clerk of Courts, Residential Eviction Packet (Possession Only)
Leave a comment