Miramar Landlord Tenant Attorney

If you own rental property in Miramar, or you rent a home or commercial space here and a dispute has started, the next move you make matters more than most people realize. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for landlords, tenants, investors, and co-owners in Miramar, across Broward County, and throughout South Florida. Whether you need to remove a tenant who has stopped paying, push back against a landlord who is not keeping up the property, or sort out a lease that has gone sideways, a Miramar landlord tenant attorney can tell you where you stand before a small problem becomes a court case.

Florida’s residential landlord-tenant statute runs on short, rigid clocks. A notice that is delivered wrong, worded wrong, or followed by the wrong conduct can derail an eviction and cost a landlord weeks of rent. On the tenant side, a missed deadline or an unwise payment can hand the other side an easy win. Most of what decides these disputes happens in the days before anyone files anything, which is why we like to talk with clients early.

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 Palm Beach County, Broward County, and South Florida, including clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own rental property or commercial space here. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and has practiced in Florida ever since. He holds an undergraduate degree from Emory University (1986) and a law degree from the University of Miami (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.

Landlord-tenant work sits inside a much larger real estate practice, and that is an advantage. The firm handles purchase and sale contract disputes, failed closings, commercial lease and loan document litigation, title disputes, partition actions, and injunctions. When a lease fight is really a fight about ownership, a partnership, or missing money, we already know how those pieces fit together. In November 2024 the firm announced a 32-page final judgment from Broward County Circuit Court, entered after a five-day bench trial, awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That is the kind of detailed, document-driven trial work a serious lease or property dispute can demand.

The firm works as a true team, so everyone on your matter knows the file. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court, and we are comfortable with mediation and arbitration as well as the courtroom. Andrew’s view is that clients usually want a lawyer who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do, and who keeps the cost sensible. For a lot of landlord-tenant problems, that means a well-drafted notice and a firm phone call rather than a lawsuit.

Landlord and Tenant Problems We See in Miramar

• Nonpayment of Rent: The most common residential dispute. After written demand for payment or possession, a tenant who stays in default for 3 days, not counting weekends or court-observed holidays, exposes the lease to termination.
• Lease Violations Other Than Rent: Unauthorized occupants, pets, subletting, or property misuse. Many of these are curable, and the landlord’s notice must give the tenant 7 days to fix the problem before the lease is terminated.
• Incurable Violations: Intentional damage to the landlord’s or other tenants’ property, fraudulent entry into a unit, or repeated unreasonable disturbances. A landlord can deliver a notice of intent to terminate with 7 days to vacate and no opportunity to cure.
• Month-to-Month and Open-Ended Tenancies: When a tenancy has no set end date, either side can end it only by written notice delivered in the manner the statute requires, and informal text messages do not reliably do the job.
• Landlord Failure to Maintain: A tenant who sends written notice of a material failure to keep the unit in the condition the statute and lease require may terminate if the landlord does not fix it within 7 days.
• Partial Rent and Waiver Traps: Accepting part of the rent after a 3-day notice has been posted creates a procedural problem unless the landlord handles it correctly.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Shopping center, office, and warehouse tenants in and around Miramar often face disputes over rent escalations, common-area charges, personal guaranties, and default clauses that look nothing like the residential statute.
• Investor and Co-Owner Conflicts: When rental property is owned by partners, LLC members, or relatives, a tenant dispute can expose a deeper disagreement about who controls the property and where the rent goes.

What to Do Right Now When a Lease Dispute Starts

The first step is to stop and read what you have. Pull the lease, any addenda, every notice that has been sent or received, the payment history, and your texts and emails with the other side. Disputes over what was promised and when are usually won or lost on paper, so keep the originals and write down dates while memories are fresh. If you are a tenant, photograph the unit and any conditions you are complaining about. If you are a landlord, photograph the property and keep records of repair requests and your responses.

Landlords should be careful about the notice itself. For unpaid rent, the written demand must give the tenant 3 days to pay or leave, counting only business days, and the clock starts on delivery. For other violations the statute separates curable problems from incurable ones, and the notice language has to match which category you are in. If the tenant sends in part of the rent after you have served the notice, do not simply cash it and move on. You must either give a written receipt noting the date, the amount, and the agreed balance and due date, put the partial payment into the court registry when you file, or serve a fresh 3-day notice for the new amount. Taking partial rent does not by itself waive your right to terminate or sue, but handling it carelessly can create problems in the eviction case. Do not change locks, remove belongings, or shut off utilities to pressure a tenant out. Florida requires a court process, and self-help can turn a winning landlord into a defendant.

Tenants should treat any notice as a deadline, even when it seems unfair. If you believe the landlord has failed to maintain the unit, send written notice describing the problem; the 7-day period the statute gives the landlord to fix it begins from that notice. Do not withhold rent or walk away without understanding the rules, because a mistake can turn a legitimate complaint into a default. If you receive court papers, respond within the time stated on them and do not assume a conversation with the landlord replaces that.

On the court side, residential possession and money claims between landlords and tenants in Broward County are generally heard in county court, and county court handles claims up to a limit that is adjusted periodically, with small claims for the lowest-dollar cases. Larger disputes, injunction requests, and complex commercial lease cases belong in circuit court. Broward County cases sit in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and the county maintains courthouses in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Plantation, and Deerfield Beach. The Seventeenth Circuit also runs complex business divisions that handle large business litigation, which can matter when a lease dispute is tied to a bigger commercial fight. If your property or business dealings reach into Palm Beach County, those matters are in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in West Palm Beach and other county courthouses.

When a Tenant Dispute Is Really a Business or Ownership Dispute

Many of the landlord-tenant problems that reach our firm are not simple. A property may be owned by two former business partners who no longer agree on whether to evict, renew, or sell. A tenant may be a family member of one co-owner. Rent may be going into an account that one owner controls. In those situations the notice to the tenant is the smaller problem, and the larger one is who has authority to act for the property.

Florida gives co-owners tools for this. An owner who cannot agree with the others about jointly held real estate can ask a court for partition, which either divides the property or orders it sold and splits the proceeds. If rent or company money is being diverted, claims for an accounting and breach of fiduciary duty may be available, and a court can issue an injunction to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending. When the property sits inside an LLC or corporation, the owners’ agreement and the dissolution statutes can control whether a buyout, a deadlock sale, or a court-supervised dissolution is the right path. We handle these claims together with the lease issue, so the tenant question is not solved in a way that hurts you on the ownership question.

Commercial leases deserve their own attention. They are governed far more by the contract than by the residential statute, which means the exact wording of default, notice, and remedy clauses decides the outcome. We review leases, guaranties, and the history of dealings between the parties, and we handle disputes over rent, build-out obligations, and termination, whether from the landlord’s or the tenant’s side.

Time limits also matter outside the eviction process. A claim based on a written lease or other written agreement generally must be filed within five years, while a claim on an oral or implied agreement has four years. Those periods are long enough to tempt people to wait, but evidence, witnesses, and tenants themselves become harder to find as time passes.

Questions About Miramar Landlord and Tenant Law

How much notice must a Florida landlord give before evicting for unpaid rent?

The landlord must deliver a written demand for payment or possession. If the tenant stays in default for 3 days after delivery, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed legal holidays, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and proceed to file for possession.

What happens if a tenant violates the lease in some way other than not paying?

It depends on whether the problem can be fixed. For a curable violation, the landlord’s notice must state that the tenant has 7 days from delivery to correct it or the lease will be terminated. For violations that cannot be cured, such as intentional destruction of property or a repeated, unreasonable disturbance, the landlord can deliver a notice of intent to terminate that gives the tenant 7 days to vacate.

Can a landlord lock out a tenant or shut off utilities in Miramar?

No. A landlord who wants possession must go through the court process. Self-help measures like changing locks or removing belongings can expose the landlord to liability. If you are a landlord who is frustrated with a tenant, a lawyer can tell you the faster lawful route.

Does accepting partial rent ruin an eviction?

Not automatically. Accepting partial rent does not by itself waive the landlord’s right to terminate or sue. But after a 3-day notice has been posted, the landlord must handle the partial payment properly: give a receipt stating the date, amount, and the agreed balance and due date, deposit the partial rent in the court registry upon filing, or serve a new 3-day notice for the amount still owed.

Can a tenant end a lease if the landlord will not make repairs?

A tenant who gives the landlord written notice of a material failure to comply with the landlord’s maintenance duties or the rental agreement may terminate if the landlord does not correct it within 7 days. The notice, its wording, and the delivery all matter, so a tenant should get advice before relying on this option.

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

A tenancy with no specific duration can be terminated only by written notice delivered in the manner the statute provides. A casual text or verbal statement can create disputes about whether proper notice was ever given, so it is worth doing correctly.

Which court handles a landlord-tenant case in Broward County?

Most residential possession and rent claims are heard in Broward County Court, with small claims handling the lowest-dollar cases. Larger money claims, injunction requests, and more complex commercial lease disputes can belong in circuit court, which is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County.

My landlord and I co-own the building with someone else. Who can evict the tenant?

That depends on the ownership structure and any operating or co-ownership agreement. When owners disagree about whether to evict, renew, or sell, the tenant problem turns into an ownership dispute, and partition, an accounting, or an LLC or corporate dissolution proceeding may need to be considered alongside the lease issue.

Can I handle a commercial lease default without suing?

Often, yes. Many commercial lease disputes settle through a negotiated cure, a restructured payment plan, an early termination, or mediation. We look at the lease’s default and notice provisions first, because they determine what leverage each side actually has.

I live out of state but own a rental property near Miramar. Can you handle the case for me?

Yes. We regularly represent owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold real estate in South Florida. We handle the local filings and court appearances and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

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

A claim founded on a written agreement generally carries a five-year limitations period, while an oral or implied agreement carries four years. Do not treat those periods as a reason to wait, because delay weakens evidence and can reduce what you recover.

Landlord and Tenant Representation Across Miramar and South Florida

We represent landlords, tenants, and property owners in Miramar and the surrounding Broward County communities, including Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Davie, Weston, Plantation, Sunrise, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Pembroke Park, Hallandale Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. Our work extends north through Deerfield Beach and into Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach. Clients from the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area who own rental or commercial property in Broward and Palm Beach Counties rely on us to handle the local proceedings on their behalf.

Speak With a Miramar Landlord Tenant Lawyer Before the Deadline Runs

Whether you are a landlord trying to recover a unit and the rent owed, a tenant trying to protect your home or business, or a co-owner whose property dispute has spilled into a lease problem, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your situation and tell you plainly what your options are. A call to a Miramar landlord tenant attorney at our firm before a notice goes out, or as soon as one arrives, can keep a manageable problem from becoming an expensive one. Contact us to schedule a consultation.