Sell a Rental During an Eviction — We Buy It Occupied

The Florida eviction process, step by step

Residential evictions in Florida run under Part II of Chapter 83, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The steps are the same in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, and Tampa; only the courthouse changes.

1. Notice. For unpaid rent, a written demand for the rent or possession within 3 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed holidays (Fla. Stat. § 83.56(3)). For a lease violation the tenant can fix, such as an unauthorized pet or occupant, a 7-day notice to cure (§ 83.56(2)(b)). For serious conduct like intentional damage, repeat violations within 12 months, or, as of the 2026 amendments, fraudulent entry of the unit, a 7-day notice to vacate with no chance to cure (§ 83.56(2)(a)). Notices go by mail, hand delivery, posting at the unit if the tenant is absent, or email if both of you signed the addendum under § 83.505.
2. Filing. If the tenant does not pay or leave, you file a complaint for possession in the county court where the property sits (§ 83.59). The case gets summary procedure under § 51.011. Past the initial filing, the owner or an attorney has to carry the case.
3. Service and the 5-day window. The tenant is served and has 5 days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, to answer. To raise any defense other than payment, the tenant must also deposit the rent claimed into the court registry within that window, plus rent as it comes due (§ 83.60(2)). Failing to deposit is an absolute waiver of those defenses and entitles the landlord to an immediate default judgment for possession.
4. Judgment and writ. After a default or a hearing, the judge signs a final judgment for possession and the clerk issues a writ of possession to the sheriff (§ 83.62). The sheriff posts a 24-hour notice on the door; weekends and holidays do not pause it. After the 24 hours a deputy returns and puts you in possession, and you can change the locks and move whatever is left to the property line.

What it costs and how long it takes in Pinellas

The hard costs, from the Pinellas County Clerk's fee schedule and the Sheriff's Office: $185 to file an eviction for possession only, $300 if you also claim damages of $2,500 to $15,000, $400 above that, plus $10 for each summons issued. Service of the summons runs through the sheriff or a private process server. When you reach the writ, the sheriff's fee to serve it is $90, and if you want a deputy to stand by while you change locks, the sheriff can charge a reasonable hourly rate (§ 83.62(2)). An attorney adds several hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on whether the tenant fights.

The soft costs are bigger. An uncontested nonpayment eviction in Pinellas County Court often takes a matter of weeks from the day the 3-day notice is served to the day the sheriff shows up; every case is different. A contested one, where the tenant answers, deposits rent, and asks for a hearing, can take months. Add the rent you did not collect before you served notice, the turnover after the tenant leaves, and the month or two to find a new tenant, and a single bad tenancy can easily cost half a year of gross rent.

Do not shortcut it. Fla. Stat. § 83.67 forbids cutting utilities, changing locks, removing doors, or taking a tenant's belongings, and the penalty is actual and consequential damages or three months' rent, whichever is greater, plus the tenant's attorney fees. Courts take those cases seriously. If the person in the house was never a tenant at all, the sheriff route under Florida's squatter law may apply instead.

Cash for keys, and when it makes sense

Plenty of Pinellas evictions end without a writ. The landlord offers the tenant money to be out by a date, in writing, with the unit broom-clean and the keys handed over. The tenant avoids a judgment on their record; the landlord avoids a month of court and a deputy at the door. It sounds backwards to pay someone who owes you, and some landlords refuse on principle, but the arithmetic is usually clear: a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars against another month or two of lost rent and filing fees.

If you go this route, put it in a short written agreement with a move-out date and time, say that the tenant surrenders possession and leaves nothing behind, and pay only when you have walked the empty unit and have the keys. Handle the security deposit the way § 83.49 requires, with the claim or return notice sent on time. And know that a tenant who takes the money and does not leave has not surrendered anything; you are back to the notice and the courthouse.

Selling the rental during the eviction, or instead of one

Here is the option most landlords do not know they have. You do not have to finish the eviction to sell the property. We buy occupied single-family rentals, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and small multifamily in Pinellas and Hillsborough with the tenant in place, paying or not, mid-eviction or not. We do one short walkthrough, 15 to 30 minutes, with proper notice to the tenant under Fla. Stat. § 83.53 or the tenant’s consent. The written cash offer typically comes within 24 hours, and it reflects what it will cost us in time and money to get the unit back and turn it. We show that math; it is the same formula we use on every house.

At closing, the lease (if any), the security deposit, and any prepaid rent transfer to us with an accounting, as Fla. Stat. § 83.49(7) requires, and you are released from holding them. If you have already filed, we coordinate with your attorney on whether the pending case can be continued by the new owner or needs to be refiled in our name; either way, after closing it is our case, our attorney, and our court dates. If you have not filed, we serve the notice ourselves after we own the property. After closing, the case is ours to finish.

Why landlords sell to us rather than wait it out

Some landlords should finish the eviction, re-rent, and keep the property. If the house is in good shape, the mortgage is light, and this is one bad tenant in ten years, that is probably you. Our offer is the renovated value minus repairs, holding and resale costs, and our margin, and if the numbers say you would net more by waiting, we tell you so. The comparison page walks through it.

The landlords who sell to us tend to share a few things. The house needs more than a turnover: a roof, a panel, a bathroom the tenant destroyed. The eviction is the second or third in a few years and they are done. They live out of state and are managing this by phone. Or they inherited the rental and never wanted it. For them, a conventional sale means finishing the eviction first, repairing, listing, and showing an empty house for months, with the costs running the whole time. Selling to us means $0 in fees or commissions, normal closing costs paid by us, no financing contingency, no repairs, no clean-out, and a closing in as little as 7 to 14 days when title is clean, or on your schedule. Unpaid property taxes, code fines, or a mortgage are paid off from the price at closing by the title company. If you are simply worn out by landlording, this page is for you, and this one covers selling with a tenant who is paying.

Related: Rental property with tenants · Tired landlord · House with squatters · all situations we buy

We are a cash home buyer, not a law firm. This page is general information about Florida law and local process, not legal advice. For advice on your situation, talk to a Florida attorney — we work with several and are glad to make an introduction.