Hallandale Beach Landlord Tenant Attorney

A landlord who needs a tenant out, or a tenant who needs a lease dispute resolved without losing a home or a storefront, is usually chasing one thing: a clean, enforceable result reached in the right court on the right timeline. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for property owners, investors, and tenants in Hallandale Beach and across Broward County and Palm Beach County, and a Hallandale Beach landlord tenant attorney from our firm can help you get there.

Landlord-tenant cases in Hallandale Beach tend to be less simple than they look. The city has a dense mix of condominium units rented by absentee owners, apartment buildings, small retail and office spaces along the commercial corridors, and investment properties owned by people who live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. A single misstep in a notice, a rent payment accepted at the wrong moment, or a lease clause read too quickly can cost weeks and hand the other side an argument. Florida’s residential landlord-tenant statute is strict about paperwork, and the courts enforce it as written.

Our work in this area sits within a broader real estate and business litigation practice, which matters because many lease disputes do not stay small. A missed rent problem can become a guaranty claim, a partnership fight over who owns the building, or a request for emergency relief to stop a tenant or co-owner from stripping a property.

What a Landlord Must Get Right Before Filing

For a residential tenant who has stopped paying, the process begins with a written demand for payment or possession. Under Florida law, if rent remains unpaid three days after delivery of that demand, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement. Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded from the count, and for this purpose legal holidays means the days the courts observe. Landlords who count calendar days instead of business days, or who deliver the notice in a manner the statute does not recognize, often find the notice is defective and the case has to start over.

The partial rent problem catches many small landlords. If you accept part of the rent after serving the three-day notice, you do not automatically lose the right to terminate or sue, but you must handle it correctly. Before filing for possession, you can give the tenant a receipt showing the date, the amount received, the agreed date for the balance, and the balance owed; you can place the partial payment in the court registry when you file; or you can serve a fresh three-day notice for the new amount. Taking the money and saying nothing is how an eviction gets dismissed.

Lease violations other than rent follow a different path. When the violation can be fixed, the landlord’s notice must tell the tenant that the lease will be terminated if the problem is not corrected within seven days of delivery. When the violation cannot be cured, such as intentional destruction of property or a repeated unreasonable disturbance, the landlord can deliver a notice of intent to terminate giving the tenant seven days to vacate. The same seven-day notice applies when a tenant repeats a violation within twelve months of a written warning. Choosing the wrong kind of notice is among the most common reasons a landlord’s case stalls.

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

The Andrew M. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts.

The firm serves Hallandale Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and it regularly represents out of state owners who hold property here and want local counsel to handle every hearing so they do not have to travel. The firm practices as a true legal team, meaning everyone working on a file knows it, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court. Clients also tell us what they want is a cost-effective result, not a drawn-out fight, and we are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as the courtroom.

Real estate litigation results matter here because lease and possession cases are won on contract language and procedure. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County Circuit Court judge issued a 32-page final judgment in May 2024 awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That kind of trial work, where the outcome turned on the exact terms of an agreement and the parties’ history, is the same discipline we bring to a commercial lease or a residential possession case.

Disputes We Handle Between Landlords, Tenants, and Co-Owners

• Nonpayment of Rent: The three-day notice, the partial payment traps, and the filing for possession, along with claims for unpaid rent owed under the lease.
• Lease Violations and Termination Notices: Seven-day cure notices, seven-day notices for violations that cannot be cured, and repeat violations within twelve months of a written warning.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Retail, restaurant, and office tenants in Hallandale Beach facing default claims, personal guaranties, or disagreements over what the lease actually requires of each side.
• Tenant Claims Against Landlords: A tenant who has given written notice of a material failure to maintain the unit may terminate the rental agreement if the landlord does not fix it within seven days.
• Month-to-Month and Open-Ended Tenancies: Tenancies without a set duration are ended by written notice delivered in the manner the statute prescribes, and errors in that notice invalidate the termination.
• Property Damage and Missing Funds: Claims involving diverted rents, unaccounted deposits, or an agent or co-owner who collected rent and did not pass it along.
• Emergency Injunctions: Temporary and permanent injunctive relief when a party is removing fixtures, transferring a property, or threatening a business located in leased space.
• Co-Owner Conflicts Behind the Lease: Partition actions and title disputes when the real fight is among owners over who controls the rental property, not with the tenant.

What To Do When a Lease Dispute Has Started

Start by gathering the lease, every amendment, all notices sent or received, and a record of every payment, including partial ones and the date each was accepted. Photographs, repair requests, and text or email exchanges matter, and they should be preserved exactly as they are. If you are a landlord, do not change locks, shut off utilities, or remove a tenant’s belongings. Florida law channels possession through the courts, and self-help invites a counterclaim that can outweigh the rent you were trying to recover.

Before serving any notice, have it reviewed. Whether the matter is a residential tenancy or a commercial lease, the notice itself is often the case. A landlord who counts days wrong, uses the wrong cure period, or delivers the notice improperly may have to begin again, and the delay is rent that is not being paid.

Know where the case will be heard. Hallandale Beach sits in Broward County, which is part of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Possession and landlord-tenant cases within county court jurisdiction are heard by the county court, and the Broward Clerk handles County Civil filings at its regional courthouses, including the South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood, which is the nearest location for a Hallandale Beach matter. Larger disputes, those above the county court limit, belong in circuit court, and the Seventeenth Circuit has a complex business division that hears larger business and construction litigation. Small claims cover the lowest tier of money disputes. For owners with property in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and its county court handle those matters instead.

Mind the clock on money claims. A claim on a written lease must generally be brought within five years, while a claim on an oral or implied agreement has a four-year period. A fraud claim runs four years from discovery. These periods are separate from the short notice deadlines in the landlord-tenant statute, and missing either kind can end a claim.

When the Lease Fight Is Really an Ownership Fight

Some of the hardest landlord-tenant cases we see are not really about the tenant. A rental property owned by two former business partners, siblings who inherited a building together, or investors who disagree about whether to sell can freeze when one co-owner stops cooperating, keeps the rent, or leases the unit without the others’ consent. In those cases the tenant’s lease becomes a pawn in a larger dispute.

Florida law gives co-owners real tools. A partition action, governed by Chapter 64, asks the court to divide the property or, when division is not practical, to order a sale and split the proceeds in proportion to each owner’s interest. The court appoints three commissioners to evaluate whether the land can be divided without prejudice to the owners. Where co-owners inherited the property from relatives, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act may apply and changes how the court approaches the case, favoring partition in kind or buyout options over a forced sale. Where the property is held through an LLC or corporation, judicial dissolution, a custodian or receiver, and buyout remedies under Chapters 605 and 607 may be the better route. Where ownership itself is clouded, a quiet title action can clear competing claims. Sorting out which of these is the real problem is often the first useful thing a lawyer does.

Questions Hallandale Beach Landlords and Tenants Ask

How long does a landlord have to wait after serving a three-day notice?

The tenant has three days after delivery of the written demand, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or court-observed legal holidays. If the rent is still unpaid after that period, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and proceed with a possession case.

Can a landlord evict without going to court?

No. A notice alone does not remove a tenant. If the tenant stays after the notice period expires, the landlord must file for possession and obtain a court order. Changing the locks or cutting off services to force a tenant out exposes the landlord to liability.

What happens if I accepted part of the rent after serving the notice?

Accepting partial rent does not by itself waive your right to terminate or sue. You must, however, take one of three steps: give a written receipt stating the date, amount received, agreed date for the balance, and balance owed; deposit the partial payment into the court registry when you file; or serve a new three-day notice reflecting the reduced amount.

How much time does a tenant have to fix a lease violation?

For violations that can be corrected, the landlord’s notice must give the tenant seven days from delivery to cure. If the violation cannot be cured, or repeats within twelve months of a written warning, the landlord may instead deliver a seven-day notice of intent to terminate.

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

A tenant who gives written notice of the landlord’s material failure to meet maintenance obligations or lease terms may terminate the rental agreement if the landlord does not comply within seven days. The notice requirements are specific, so a tenant should have it reviewed before relying on this right.

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

A tenancy with no fixed duration is ended by written notice delivered in the manner the statute requires. Informal text messages or verbal statements are a frequent source of invalid terminations.

Which court handles my Hallandale Beach landlord-tenant case?

Possession and money claims within county court limits go to the Broward County court, filed through the Clerk. Larger claims belong in the circuit court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and complex business disputes can be assigned to its business division. A lawyer can tell you which tier fits the amount and nature of your claim.

I live in New York and own a unit here. Do I have to appear in person?

Generally our firm handles the local court appearances and proceedings for out of state owners and keeps you updated at each stage, so you are not required to travel for every hearing. We regularly work with owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a single-unit eviction?

Often yes, because the cost of a defective notice is lost time and additional unpaid rent. A short review before serving the notice can prevent a dismissal, and a lawyer can also address a tenant’s counterclaims, a guaranty, or an ownership dispute that sits underneath the lease.

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

You may have claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of funds, and in urgent cases a court can issue injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending. If the underlying problem is that you can no longer co-own the property, partition may be the better path.

How long do I have to sue over an unpaid commercial lease?

A claim founded on a written lease generally has a five-year period, and a claim based on an oral or implied agreement has four years. The right period depends on how the obligation was created, so confirm the deadline before waiting.

Can a dispute be settled without a trial?

Yes, and many are. Negotiation, mediation, and arbitration resolve a large share of landlord-tenant and co-owner disputes, and our attorneys are experienced in all three. We pursue the route most likely to meet your goals at a sensible cost.

Serving Landlord and Tenant Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

Our work starts in Hallandale Beach and extends throughout Broward County, including Hollywood, Dania Beach, Pembroke Park, Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Coral Springs, and Parkland. We also represent owners and tenants in Palm Beach County, from Boca Raton and Delray Beach through Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. For clients whose disputes reach federal court, the Southern District of Florida sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Many of our clients own South Florida rental property from homes in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and we serve them with the same attention as clients who live down the street.

Talk With a Hallandale Beach Landlord Tenant Lawyer

Whether you are a landlord preparing a notice, a commercial tenant facing a default claim, or a co-owner whose rental property has become the center of a larger fight, a conversation with a Hallandale Beach landlord tenant lawyer before the next step can save time and money. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to discuss your situation, and we will tell you plainly what the law allows, which court applies, and how we would approach it.