Palm Beach County Landlord Tenant Attorney
The clock in a Florida eviction is shorter than most landlords and tenants expect, and one misstep in the notice can force the whole case to start over. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate disputes for property owners, investors, and tenants, and works as a Palm Beach County landlord tenant attorney for clients in Palm Beach County, Broward County, and across South Florida.
Landlord-tenant conflict in this market ranges from a residential tenant who stopped paying rent to a commercial tenant whose lease terms are being contested, and from a small-property owner with a problem tenant to an out-of-state investor who owns rental property here and cannot appear in person. Each version turns on the written lease, the notice that was served, and what the parties did afterward. Those details decide the case more often than the headline dispute does.
What a Landlord Tenant Dispute in Palm Beach County Usually Involves
Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes sets the residential rules, and the notice requirements are strict. The most common trigger is nonpayment. After a tenant misses rent, the landlord serves a written demand for payment or possession. The tenant then has three days to pay or leave, and weekends and court-observed legal holidays do not count toward those days. If the default continues past that window, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and file for possession.
Other violations follow a different track. For a curable breach, such as an unauthorized occupant or a rule violation that can be fixed, the notice must give the tenant seven days from delivery to correct the problem, and it must say that the landlord will terminate if the problem is not corrected. Some conduct allows no chance to cure: intentional destruction or misuse of property, and a repeated or continuing unreasonable disturbance. In those cases the landlord delivers a notice of intent to terminate and the tenant has seven days to vacate. The same seven-day path applies when a tenant repeats a violation within twelve months of a written warning.
Tenants have remedies as well. If a landlord materially fails to keep the unit in the condition the statute and lease require, and does not fix the problem within seven days of the tenant’s written notice, the tenant may have the right to terminate the rental agreement. Tenants who simply stop paying without following that process risk an eviction on their record.
Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Landlord Tenant Disputes
The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in South Florida real estate and business disputes, serving clients in Palm Beach County, Broward County, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale. Andrew M. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts.
Landlord-tenant work at this firm sits inside a broader real estate and business litigation practice, and that matters. A lease dispute is rarely only a lease dispute. It may involve a guaranty, a partner who co-owns the building, a failed closing, a title question, or a request for emergency court relief. The firm handles commercial and residential real estate transactions and litigation, landlord and tenant matters, and temporary and permanent injunctions, so a dispute that grows beyond the first notice does not require a new lawyer.
The firm’s work includes a five-day bench trial in Broward County that ended in a 32-page final judgment granting specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That is the kind of record-driven, document-heavy litigation that commercial lease disputes require. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone on a matter knows the file, and it keeps a strict 24-hour return call policy. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and they look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget.
Landlord and Tenant Situations We Handle
- Nonpayment of Rent: The three-day notice, the possession filing, and the handling of partial payments. If a landlord accepts partial rent after posting the notice, the landlord generally must give a dated receipt noting the balance due, deposit the partial payment into the court registry when filing, or serve a fresh notice for the new amount.
- Lease Violations and Non-Curable Breaches: Seven-day cure notices, seven-day termination notices, and the question of whether the conduct alleged actually qualifies as incurable.
- Commercial Lease Disputes: Retail, office, and industrial tenancies where the lease terms, personal guaranties, and rent acceleration clauses drive the result, and where amounts in controversy can place the case in circuit court.
- Month-to-Month and Holdover Tenancies: A tenancy with no fixed term can be ended only by written notice delivered in the manner the statute requires, and defective notice is a common reason an eviction fails.
- Tenant Claims Against Landlords: Failure to maintain the premises, retaliation, and the tenant’s right to terminate after proper written notice and a seven-day period without a fix.
- Unpaid Rent and Damages Claims: Suing for rent owed, property damage, and breach of the lease, with attention to the five-year limit for claims founded on a written instrument.
- Co-Owner and Partner Conflicts Over Rental Property: When the landlord is itself an entity whose members disagree about leasing, collecting rent, or selling, the dispute can move into partition or business divorce territory.
- Emergency Relief: Injunctions to stop a tenant or co-owner from removing fixtures, diverting rents, or interfering with property while the case is pending.
What to Do Right Now if You Are a Landlord or a Tenant in a Dispute
Start with the paper. Pull the lease, every amendment, all notices, the payment history, and every text or email about the problem. In landlord-tenant cases, what was delivered and when often matters more than who was right in the abstract. A landlord who mailed the wrong notice, or counted the days wrong, may have to begin again.
Landlords should not change locks, remove belongings, or cut off utilities to push a tenant out. Florida requires a court process, and self-help can expose the landlord to a claim. Serve the correct notice, calendar the deadline carefully, and then decide whether to file for possession. Be cautious about accepting money after the notice goes out. Partial payment does not waive the right to terminate or sue, but it must be handled the way the statute prescribes or the notice can be undermined.
Tenants who receive a three-day or seven-day notice should respond immediately rather than waiting for a court summons. If the notice is for nonpayment, paying the full amount demanded within the window may end the matter. If you believe the notice is defective, or the landlord failed to make repairs after your written request, document that in writing and keep copies. Ignoring a summons is the worst outcome, since it can lead to a default.
Disputes in this county are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County. Possession and smaller money claims are generally heard in county court, which handles actions up to a limit that is adjusted periodically, while larger claims go to circuit court. The county has courthouses in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Beach, Delray Beach, and Belle Glade, and the right one depends on where the property sits and the nature of the case. Commercial disputes with significant money at stake, or claims that involve injunctive relief, often belong in circuit court.
For clients who live outside Florida, we handle the local filings and court appearances so you do not have to travel for every hearing. That is common among our clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own rental property or commercial space in South Florida.
When a Lease Dispute Turns Into Something Bigger
Many landlord-tenant cases do not end with a possession judgment. A commercial tenant who has stopped paying may also be a partner in the landlord’s other venture. A building owned by siblings or former business partners may be tied up because the co-owners disagree about whether to evict, renegotiate, or sell. When that happens, the case can involve claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, or recovery of rents that were diverted.
If co-owners cannot agree on what to do with a rental property, Florida allows an owner to ask a court for partition. The court can divide the property or, when division is not practical, order it sold and the proceeds divided in proportion to ownership. Partition proceeds in chancery, and a judgment typically involves commissioners who evaluate whether a division is workable. When the property was inherited and held among relatives, a separate statute for heirs property may apply and changes how the process works.
Where ownership of the property itself is in question, a quiet title action can clear competing claims. The plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise, and the suit can be filed in any county where part of the land sits. Title problems often surface in the middle of a lease dispute, when a tenant or a third party asserts an interest the landlord did not expect.
Disputes inside the landlord entity can also reach dissolution. A member of a Florida LLC may seek judicial dissolution on grounds that include deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, misappropriation of assets, or that it is no longer reasonably practicable to carry on the company’s activities under its operating agreement. A court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member’s interest. These remedies exist for owners whose rental business has stalled, and they are one reason it helps to have a lawyer who handles both the lease and the entity.
Palm Beach County Landlord Tenant Questions
How much notice does a Palm Beach County landlord have to give before filing for eviction?
It depends on the reason. For unpaid rent, the landlord serves a written demand and the tenant has three days, excluding weekends and court-observed legal holidays, to pay or vacate. For a curable lease violation, the tenant gets seven days to fix it. For a violation that cannot be cured, the tenant gets seven days to leave.
Do weekends count in the three-day notice for unpaid rent?
No. Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded, and for this purpose legal holidays means court-observed holidays. A notice that counts weekends can be defective.
Can a landlord accept partial rent after serving a notice?
Yes, but with conditions. Accepting partial rent does not waive the landlord’s right to terminate or sue. The landlord should give a receipt showing the date, the amount, and the remaining balance, or place the payment in the court registry when filing, or serve a new notice for the reduced amount.
What can a tenant do if the landlord will not make repairs?
The tenant should give written notice of the problem. If the landlord materially fails to comply with the statutory maintenance obligations or the lease within seven days after that notice, the tenant may have the right to terminate the rental agreement. Following the notice requirements carefully is essential.
How is a month-to-month tenancy ended?
A tenancy without a set duration is ended by written notice delivered in the manner the statute provides. Verbal notice or an informal text often will not do the job, and a defective notice can delay the case.
Which court hears a landlord tenant case in Palm Beach County?
The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit sits in and for Palm Beach County. Many possession and moderate money disputes go to county court, while larger claims and those seeking injunctions or other equitable relief go to circuit court. The monetary dividing line is adjusted periodically, so check it before filing.
How long do I have to sue a tenant or landlord for breach of a lease?
A claim founded on a written lease generally must be filed within five years. A claim that rests on an oral or implied agreement has four years. These limits can be affected by the date the claim accrued and the type of claim, so do not wait.
Can I handle a Palm Beach County eviction from out of state?
Yes. We regularly represent owners who live in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. We handle the notices, filings, and local court appearances and keep you informed without requiring you to travel for hearings.
My tenant and I are also business partners. Does that change the case?
It can. The lease dispute may sit alongside claims about partnership duties, missing funds, or control of the entity that owns the property. These overlapping claims are worth analyzing together before anything is filed, because a position taken in one case can affect the other.
Is an emergency injunction ever available in a landlord tenant dispute?
Sometimes. Courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions to protect property and assets while a dispute is pending, for example to stop the removal of fixtures or the diversion of rents. These requests require prompt, well-supported filings.
Do all of these disputes end up in court?
No. Many resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, especially commercial disputes where both sides want to preserve a relationship or reach a clean exit. We look for the resolution that fits your goals and budget.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a straightforward nonpayment eviction?
Often yes, because the process is notice-driven and unforgiving. A miscounted day or wrong form can send a landlord back to the start, and a tenant who misses a deadline can lose by default. Legal help is most valuable at the notice stage, before mistakes are locked in.
Serving Landlords and Tenants Across Palm Beach County and South Florida
Our work for Palm Beach County clients runs from West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens through Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth Beach, and Boynton Beach, down to Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Highland Beach, and out to Jupiter, Riviera Beach, Greenacres, and the western communities around Belle Glade. We represent owners of retail centers, office space, apartment buildings, single-family rentals, and investment property in each of these areas.
The firm also serves Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Plantation, and Hollywood, along with clients throughout South Florida. Many of our clients live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut and own property or have partners here, and we handle the local proceedings on their behalf.
Speak With a Palm Beach County Landlord Tenant Lawyer Today
Whether you are a landlord trying to recover a property or a tenant responding to a notice, the first few days shape the rest of the case. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to talk with a Palm Beach County landlord tenant lawyer about your lease, your notice, and your options. We answer the phone, and we return calls within 24 hours if we are in court. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
