Pembroke Pines Landlord Tenant Attorney

A landlord waiting on rent that has not come in, or a tenant holding a notice that says seven days to leave, is working against a clock written into Florida statute. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and tenants in Pembroke Pines and across Broward County and Palm Beach County, and a good Pembroke Pines landlord tenant attorney starts by looking at the notice, because most of these disputes are won or lost on whether the notice was done correctly.

Pembroke Pines is a city of single-family homes, townhome communities, apartment complexes, and a steady stream of commercial space along its main corridors. That mix means the disputes vary: a landlord with one rented house, an investor with a small portfolio, a retail tenant behind on a lease, or a family that inherited a rental property and cannot agree on what to do with it. The rules for each are not identical, and the first decision, how to respond to a notice or whether to send one, shapes everything that follows.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Landlord and Tenant Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in South Florida’s business and real estate disputes, serving Pembroke Pines, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation, much of it built around contract disputes, which is what a lease is at its core. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989.

He is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a matter knows the file, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when the attorneys are in court. Clients tend to arrive expecting a hyper-aggressive posture; the firm’s approach is to act as the situation requires and to look for a resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case.

The firm’s real estate work includes transactions and litigation, purchase and sale contract disputes, failed closings, and landlord and tenant matters. In a recent matter, after a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the firm’s client received a 32-page final judgment granting specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That kind of trial experience matters when a lease dispute stops being a notice problem and becomes a contested case. The firm also represents out of state clients with Florida property, handling local court appearances so owners in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut do not need to travel for every hearing.

Landlord-Tenant Situations We Handle in and Around Pembroke Pines

• Nonpayment of Rent: A landlord must deliver a written demand for payment or possession, and the tenant has three days, not counting weekends or court-observed legal holidays, to pay or leave before the landlord may terminate. Errors in how that notice is written or delivered are a common reason these cases stall.
• Lease Violations Other Than Rent: For curable problems such as unauthorized occupants or pets, the notice must give the tenant seven days to correct the issue. For noncompliance that cannot be cured, such as intentional property destruction, the landlord may instead give a seven day notice to vacate.
• Partial Rent Payments: Accepting part of the rent after serving a nonpayment notice does not by itself waive the right to terminate, but the landlord must handle it properly: give a dated receipt noting the balance, post a new notice for the reduced amount, or deposit the partial payment into the court registry when filing.
• Tenant Remedies for Landlord Neglect: A tenant who gives written notice of a material failure to maintain the premises and gets no fix within seven days may be able to terminate the rental agreement. Skipping the written notice undermines the claim.
• Month-to-Month and Open-Ended Tenancies: A tenancy with no fixed end date is ended by written notice delivered in the manner the statute prescribes, and disputes often turn on whether that notice was effective.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Retail, office, and warehouse tenants and landlords face unpaid rent, default provisions, personal guarantees, and lease interpretation fights that are governed far more by the lease’s wording than by the residential statute.
• Co-Owned Rental Property: When business partners, siblings, or former couples own a rental together and cannot agree on rent, repairs, or sale, the dispute may move beyond landlord-tenant law into partition or partnership litigation.
• Emergency Relief: When a tenant is stripping a property, or a landlord is about to dispose of a tenant’s rights or a company’s assets, temporary injunctive relief can freeze the situation while the case proceeds.

What to Do Right Now When a Notice Arrives or Rent Stops

The first decision is whether the notice in your hands is valid. Read it for what it demands and how long you have. A three-day rent demand and a seven-day notice to vacate carry different consequences, and the deadlines run from delivery of the notice, not from the date written on it. Keep the original, note exactly how and when it reached you, and photograph it. A tenant who responds late or ignores a defective notice may give up arguments that would have been available with a timely response. A landlord who serves a flawed notice and files anyway often must start over, losing weeks.

Gather the documents that will decide the case: the signed lease and any renewals or amendments, the payment ledger, bank records or receipts, texts and emails about repairs or late payments, and photographs of the property’s condition. If you are a landlord who accepted any payment after serving notice, tell your attorney immediately, because how that payment was documented affects your ability to proceed. If you are a tenant who withheld rent over conditions, confirm that you gave written notice of the problem first, since the statute ties the tenant’s remedy to that written notice and the seven day window that follows it.

Where a case is filed depends on the claim and the dollar amount. Disputes for possession and money within the county court range are heard in the county court for Broward County, which holds civil matters at the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and at regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. Larger claims go to the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County. For Pembroke Pines, the Hollywood and Plantation regional courthouses are the nearest of those regional locations. Cases tied to property in Palm Beach County are heard under the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit instead. Small claims remain available for modest sums, and the county court dollar ceiling is adjusted periodically, so confirm current limits before choosing a forum.

The most common mistakes are predictable. Landlords change locks or shut off utilities instead of using the court process. Tenants stop communicating, or pay in cash with no receipt. Both sides assume a verbal understanding will override the lease. Both sides wait. Calling an attorney before the deadline expires, rather than after, is usually the cheapest step in the entire dispute.

When a Lease Dispute Becomes a Larger Business Problem

Many landlord-tenant fights are really symptoms of something else. A commercial tenant stops paying because the business partners who own it are deadlocked. A rental property sits vacant because the co-owners disagree about selling it. Rent is missing because a manager diverted funds. When that is the real problem, a possession case alone will not fix it, and the firm’s practice in partnership disputes, claims over missing funds, partition actions, and quiet title matters becomes relevant. Florida’s partition statutes allow a court to divide jointly owned real property or order it sold and the proceeds distributed, which is often the practical way out when co-owners of a rental cannot cooperate.

The limitations period matters too. A lawsuit on a written lease generally must be filed within five years, while claims on oral agreements have four. Waiting does not improve either side’s position, since evidence fades and tenants who owe money often disappear or file for protection. The firm also draws on mediation and arbitration experience, and many lease disputes settle with a payment plan, a negotiated move-out date, or a lease modification that costs far less than a trial.

Pembroke Pines Landlord and Tenant Questions

How much notice does a landlord have to give before filing for eviction for unpaid rent?

The landlord must deliver a written demand for payment or possession, and the tenant has three days to pay or move out, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed legal holidays. Only after that period passes without payment may the landlord terminate and file for possession.

What if my lease violation is something I can fix?

For curable noncompliance other than rent, the landlord’s notice must state that the tenant has seven days from delivery to correct the problem or the rental agreement will be terminated. If the tenant fixes it within that window, the landlord generally cannot proceed on that violation.

Are there violations that give a tenant no chance to cure?

Yes. Intentional destruction or misuse of property, fraudulent entry of a dwelling, and a repeated or continuing unreasonable disturbance are examples. In those situations a landlord can serve a seven day notice of intent to terminate without offering a cure period.

Does accepting partial rent mean the landlord gave up the right to evict?

No, accepting partial rent does not waive the right to terminate or sue, but the landlord has to handle it correctly by issuing a dated receipt stating the balance, serving a new three day notice for the reduced amount, or placing the partial payment in the court registry when filing.

Can a tenant leave if the landlord will not make repairs?

A tenant who gives written notice of the landlord’s material failure to comply with the lease or the statutory maintenance duties, and who sees no correction within seven days, may terminate the rental agreement. The written notice is the step tenants most often skip.

How do I end a month-to-month tenancy?

A tenancy with no specified duration is ended by written notice delivered in the manner the statute requires for notices. A verbal heads-up or a text message may not satisfy that, so the form of the notice deserves the same care as its timing.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a single rental house?

Often yes, particularly when a notice has been served or a judgment is at stake. A defective notice can force a landlord to restart the process, and a tenant who misses a deadline can lose defenses. Consultation early on usually costs far less than fixing an error later.

How long do these cases take in Broward County courts?

It depends on whether the case is a straightforward possession matter, a contested money claim, or a larger dispute filed in circuit court. Timing varies with the court’s calendar and how much the other side contests. Cases involving injunctions or business disputes can take considerably longer than a simple nonpayment filing, and an attorney can give a realistic estimate after reviewing the file.

Can I handle this from out of state if I own a rental here?

Yes. The firm regularly represents owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with property in South Florida, handling local court appearances and keeping the client informed so travel is not required for every hearing.

What if my tenant and I are both business partners or relatives?

Those relationships complicate matters, because the lease dispute may sit on top of a partnership, family, or ownership conflict. The firm handles family business disputes with discretion, and may recommend addressing the underlying ownership issue, through a buyout or partition, rather than litigating the lease alone.

What if a co-owner is collecting rent and not sharing it?

That can support claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of funds, and in urgent situations a court can issue injunctive relief to stop money or assets from being moved while the case is pending.

Serving Landlord and Tenant Clients Across Pembroke Pines and South Florida

The firm represents landlords and tenants in Pembroke Pines and throughout Broward County, including Hollywood, Miramar, Davie, Plantation, Weston, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches, Hallandale Beach, Sunrise, Coral Springs, Parkland, and Fort Lauderdale. The same representation extends north into Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and West Palm Beach. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own rental property or commercial space in these communities are served as well, with the firm managing the local proceedings on their behalf.

Speak With a Pembroke Pines Landlord Tenant Lawyer Before the Deadline Passes

If you are a landlord who needs to terminate a tenancy properly, or a tenant who has been served and needs to respond, a Pembroke Pines landlord tenant lawyer can review the notice, the lease, and your options before the clock runs out. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team returns calls within 24 hours and will tell you plainly whether your position is strong, what it is likely to cost, and whether a negotiated outcome makes more sense than a courtroom. Call today to discuss your situation.