Real Estate Development, Sales and Leasing Industry Legal Blog

Each year the Florida Legislature proposes and votes on bills for amending the Florida Statutes.  Bills that pass both the Florida House and Senate go before the Governor who decides which bills become law.  In the 2018 legislative session, approximately 150 fewer bills were proposed, and 40 fewer bills ultimately […]

Owners of waterfront property have “riparian rights” to access the navigable water and the right to a waterfront view in addition to their rights to use their upland property.  Docking rights often are an area of dispute, not only for waterfront property owners seeking dock permits from the government, but […]

Many landlords are reluctant to grant tenant option to purchase in a lease agreement. That’s because the  options may disincentivize other potential buyers or cause delays in the landlord’s negotiation of a sale.  Still, landlords may grant options to purchase to attract large, creditworthy tenants, particularly if they are the […]

Having been served with a notice of default, a tenant then has three days to cure a breach for failure to pay rent and fifteen days to cure a nonmonetary breach, unless the parties’ lease provides different timeframes. If the tenant subsequently fails to cure the breach, the landlord must then file suit for eviction.

It’s an unfortunate but harsh reality for commercial landlords. You will inevitably face an eviction situation at some point during your ownership of commercial property.  However, while no landlord wants to experience an eviction scenario, you should be prepared for it. The first step is having a basic working knowledge […]

Security deposits are obviously one of the most important tools for landlords to protect their property when leasing it to a tenant.  However, when accepting a security deposit, residential landlords must comply with Florida law governing how security deposit must be held and how the accrued interest is paid out […]

Sometimes it is necessary to remove someone from your property. There are a number of legal theories that involve someone entering upon real property and the claim that a landowner ultimately asserts depends on the relationship it has with the actor.  A person with no right to real property who […]

It’s that time of year again.  Every August, the county property appraisers throughout the state of Florida, mail their annual “TRIM” notices to all owners of residential and commercial property.  If you are a property owner, you may be quite familiar with this notice, which prominently states “DO NOT PAY […]

This blog post is part IV in a series of posts providing an overview of important considerations for commercial lease agreements. Regardless of whether a landlord or tenant, there are numerous issues that all parties should consider prior to entering into a commercial lease agreement. Part I addressed mandatory and suggested commercial lease agreement terms and the legal duties and obligations of the parties involved. Part II discussed the enforceability of certain lease agreements, tort liability for both landlords and tenants, and the use of personal guarantees. Part III focused on the tenant’s remedies, claims and defenses when a landlord breaches the commercial lease agreement. This fourth and final post in this series will discuss the landlord’s remedies, claims and defenses for breaches by the tenant.

In a Landlord-Tenant relationship, there is always the possibility of bad blood emerging between the owner/lessor of the real estate and the tenant/lessee who leases that real estate. One of the most common causes for such bad blood results from disagreements surrounding the payment, or lack thereof, of rent. Landlords should be aware that once a landlord files a complaint against a tenant, a tenant must pay money and attention. The purpose of this blog post is to provide an overview of the “pay-to-play” system of eviction litigation in Florida, practical steps, and analysis for landlords to efficiently evict a defaulting tenant, while at the same time maximizing their potential to recover rent owed under the lease. This blog will explore § 83.232, Florida Statutes, as well as its significantly similar residential counterpart, § 83.60(2), Florida Statutes.