Hollywood Landlord Tenant Attorney

A landlord in Hollywood whose tenant stopped paying in March, or a tenant whose lease dispute has turned into a threat of eviction, is usually working against a clock that neither side fully understands. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles landlord and tenant disputes as part of its business and real estate litigation practice, representing property owners, investors, commercial tenants, and families throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County. If you are searching for a Hollywood landlord tenant attorney, the first thing to know is that Florida’s rental statutes run on short, strict notice periods, and a single defective notice can send a landlord back to square one.

Most of these disputes follow a recognizable arc. Someone misses rent, breaks a lease term, or claims the unit is not livable. A written notice goes out, or should have. The recipient pays, cures, leaves, or ignores it. If nobody budges, the matter lands in court. How cleanly it moves through that arc depends almost entirely on whether the early paperwork was done right.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Broward County, Palm Beach County, and the rest of South Florida, including Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach. Founder Andrew M. He holds an undergraduate degree from Emory University and a law degree from the University of Miami. 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 works as a true team, so everyone on a file knows the facts when a client calls, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy. That matters in landlord and tenant work, where a three-day or seven-day notice period leaves little room for waiting on a callback.

The firm’s real estate practice covers failed closings, purchase and sale contract disputes, commercial and residential transactions, and landlord and tenant matters. In a recent matter, after a five-day bench trial, a Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That trial experience carries into lease disputes, which often turn on exact contract wording and the history between the parties. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and it aims for a resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than a longer fight for its own sake.

Types of Landlord and Tenant Disputes We Handle

• Nonpayment of Rent: The most common dispute. Florida requires a written demand for payment or possession, and the tenant gets three days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or court-observed legal holidays, before the landlord may terminate.
• Lease Violations That Can Be Cured: Unauthorized occupants, pets, or property use that breaks the lease. The landlord’s notice must give the tenant seven days to correct the problem or face termination.
• Violations With No Chance to Cure: Intentional destruction or misuse of property, fraudulent entry of a unit, or repeated unreasonable disturbances. These allow a notice of intent to terminate with seven days to vacate.
• Repeat Noncompliance: A tenant who violates the lease again within 12 months of a written warning can be served a termination notice without a new cure period.
• Month-to-Month and Open-Ended Tenancies: Tenancies with no fixed term end by written notice delivered in the manner the statute prescribes, and mistakes in delivery are a frequent source of litigation.
• Tenant Claims Against a Landlord: A tenant who sends written notice of a material failure to maintain the unit or honor the lease may terminate if the landlord does not fix it within seven days.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Retail, office, and industrial leases usually hinge on negotiated terms, guaranties, and default provisions rather than the residential statute alone.
• Disputes Over Money Owed: Unpaid rent after move-out, damage claims, and fights over deposits, which can end up in small claims or county court depending on the amount.

What Landlords and Tenants Should Do Right Now

Start with the paper. Landlords should pull the lease, the rent ledger, and every notice already sent. Tenants should gather the lease, proof of every payment, and any written complaints about the unit. Dates matter more than anything else, because the statute measures time from delivery of a notice.

For a landlord, the pre-lawsuit notice is not a formality. A nonpayment notice must demand payment or possession and give the three-day window. If the tenant pays part of the rent after the notice is posted, the landlord must handle it carefully: give a receipt showing the date, the amount received, and the agreed date and balance due, or put the partial payment in the court registry when filing, or serve a fresh three-day notice reflecting the new amount. Accepting partial rent does not by itself waive the right to terminate or sue, but sloppy handling gives a tenant’s lawyer an argument.

For a tenant, do not ignore a notice, and do not assume a verbal promise from the landlord replaces it. If the problem is the landlord’s, put the complaint in writing. The seven-day repair clock under the statute only starts after written notice. Keep copies and photographs.

On the court side, residential possession cases are filed in the county where the property sits. For Hollywood properties, that means Broward County, and county civil matters are heard at the South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood as well as other Broward courthouses. Claims above the county court limit, and cases involving broader business or real estate questions, belong in the circuit court, which in Broward is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Small claims handles the smallest disputes, and county court takes the middle range. Where a lease fight is tied to a partnership breakup or a title question, the case may belong in circuit court, and Broward’s complex business division handles certain large business disputes.

The most common mistakes are predictable. Landlords serve the wrong notice for the wrong breach, miscount days, or change the locks themselves. Tenants withhold rent without first giving the written notice the statute requires. Both sides wait too long to get advice and end up in court with a weaker position than they had a month earlier.

How a Landlord Tenant Case Usually Unfolds

A typical case moves in stages. First comes the notice. If the tenant does not comply, the landlord files for possession, and the tenant is served and given a short window to respond. In nonpayment cases, a tenant who contests the eviction may be required to deposit the rent claimed into the court registry, and failing to do so can mean losing the right to defend on the merits. If the tenant does not respond, the court can enter a default. If the tenant does respond, the case may be set for hearing or trial, and many resolve at or before that point through a payment plan, an agreed move-out date, or a mutual release.

Money claims travel on a separate track. A landlord who wants back rent, damages, or lease-balance payments can add a damages claim, and the limitations period depends on the nature of the claim. A claim founded on a written lease generally has five years under Florida law, while a claim on an oral or implied agreement has four. Those periods are long compared with the notice windows, but evidence and tenants both disappear over time, so waiting rarely helps.

Commercial disputes look different. Many commercial leases contain their own default, cure, acceleration, and attorney fee provisions, and the dispute may involve a personal guaranty from an owner. Those cases are often won or lost on the precise wording of the agreement, which is the kind of close reading the firm brings to complex contract litigation.

Landlord Tenant Questions Hollywood Property Owners and Renters Ask

How long does a landlord have to give a tenant to pay rent before eviction?

For nonpayment, the tenant has three days after delivery of a written demand for payment or possession, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed legal holidays. If rent is not paid within that window, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and move toward filing.

What if the lease violation is something other than rent?

If the problem can be fixed, the landlord’s notice must give the tenant seven days from delivery to correct it, and must say that the rental agreement will be terminated if the problem continues. If the violation cannot be cured, such as intentional property damage, the landlord may give a notice of intent to terminate with seven days to vacate.

Can a landlord accept partial rent and still evict?

Yes, but the handling matters. Accepting partial rent does not waive the landlord’s right to terminate or sue, provided the landlord either gives a receipt stating the date, amount, and agreed balance due, deposits the partial payment in the court registry when filing, or serves a new three-day notice for the reduced amount.

Can a tenant leave early if the landlord fails to make repairs?

A tenant may terminate if the landlord materially fails to comply with the lease or the statutory maintenance duties and does not fix the problem within seven days after receiving the tenant’s written notice. Oral complaints do not start that clock.

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

A tenancy with no fixed duration ends by written notice delivered in the manner the statute provides. The required notice period depends on the type of tenancy, and a defective notice can invalidate the whole process, so confirm the method of delivery before relying on it.

Which court handles my landlord tenant case in the Hollywood area?

Hollywood is in Broward County, whose courts sit in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. County civil cases can be heard at the South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood, while larger or more complex disputes belong in circuit court. Small claims covers the lowest dollar range, and the county court’s limit has been periodically adjusted by statute.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a small lease dispute?

Often yes, especially on the landlord side, where a defective notice can force a refiling and cost weeks. For a tenant facing an eviction filing, a lawyer can check whether the notice was valid, whether the court registry requirement applies, and whether a negotiated exit is possible.

What if my tenant is also my business partner or family member?

Mixed relationships are common in South Florida, such as siblings who co-own a rental property or a partner who occupies a unit owned by the company. The firm handles these disputes with discretion, and the case may involve partition, accounting, or fiduciary duty issues alongside the landlord and tenant claims.

How long do I have to sue over a lease breach?

A claim founded on a written lease generally has a five-year limitations period, while an oral or implied agreement has four years. Different claims, such as fraud or negligence, run on different clocks, so the right deadline depends on how the claim is framed.

I live out of state but own a rental in Hollywood. Can you represent me?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with property in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances and keep you informed, so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Do landlord tenant disputes always end up in court?

No. Many resolve through a payment agreement, a negotiated move-out, mediation, or arbitration under the lease. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in each, and we pursue the route most likely to meet the client’s goals efficiently.

Serving Landlord and Tenant Clients Across Hollywood and South Florida

Our work for property owners and tenants starts in Hollywood and extends through the rest of Broward County, including Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Lauderhill. We also represent clients in Palm Beach County, from Boca Raton and Delray Beach through Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens.

That reach reflects who actually brings us these cases: local landlords with small portfolios, investors holding property from out of state, commercial tenants in retail and office space, and families whose rental property is part of a larger dispute over ownership or inheritance. Whatever the building or the lease, the questions are the same: was the notice correct, what does the agreement say, and what outcome makes financial sense.

Talk With a Hollywood Landlord Tenant Lawyer Before the Deadline Passes

If you are a landlord holding a lease you cannot enforce or a tenant holding a notice you do not understand, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review the documents and tell you where you stand. A Hollywood landlord tenant lawyer who reads the lease and the notice before anything is filed can often save weeks and avoid a procedural misstep. Call to schedule a consultation and get a clear read on your options while the notice periods are still working in your favor.