South Florida Landlord Tenant Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents commercial landlords, property investors, business tenants, and individual owners across Palm Beach County, Broward County, and the rest of South Florida when a lease relationship goes wrong. Our work in this area is driven by disputes that carry real money and real property: a tenant who has stopped paying and will not leave, a landlord who has locked out a business, a lease guaranty no one wants to honor, or a failed closing that leaves a lease in limbo. As a South Florida landlord tenant attorney team, we handle both sides of these conflicts, depending on who walks through the door.

Florida landlord tenant disputes are unusually unforgiving about paperwork. A single defective notice, a miscounted deadline, or a partial rent payment accepted at the wrong moment can force a landlord to start over or hand a tenant a defense. On the tenant side, an unanswered notice can turn into a possession judgment faster than most people expect. Because the timelines are short and the procedural rules are strict, the first few days after a dispute surfaces often shape the whole case.

Many of the matters we see go beyond a simple eviction. A lease may be tangled up with a business divorce, a partnership dispute over who controls the premises, a partition action over co-owned rental property, or a contract claim for unpaid rent and damages. That crossover between lease law, contract law, and real estate litigation is where our practice is built.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a South Florida business and real estate litigation firm serving Palm Beach County, Broward County, and clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own property or businesses here. Andrew M. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from 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.

Landlord tenant conflicts rarely stay in a single lane, and that is why this firm’s background matters. Our real estate practice covers commercial and residential transactions and litigation, including purchase and sale contract disputes, failed closings, and landlord and tenant matters, while our business litigation work covers commercial leases, loan documents, and contract enforcement. We practice as a true legal team, so everyone working on your file knows it, and we hold ourselves to a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court and cannot respond immediately.

Our results in real estate court speak to the level of preparation we bring. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, a 32-page final judgment awarded our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Cases like that are won on the wording of the agreement and the history between the parties, which is exactly how lease disputes are decided too. We also regularly act as outside general counsel, serving as registered agent and helping landlords and operating businesses sort out lease and compliance questions before they become lawsuits. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that fits your goals and your budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

Lease Disputes We Handle Across South Florida

• Nonpayment of Rent: The most common trigger. Florida requires a written demand for payment or possession, and the tenant gets three days to cure, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or court-observed legal holidays. Errors in how that notice is drafted or delivered are a frequent reason these cases stall.
• Lease Violations and Non-Rent Defaults: Unauthorized subletting, prohibited use of the space, property damage, and ongoing disturbances. Some violations can be cured within seven days of notice; others, such as intentional destruction of property, allow termination without a chance to cure.
• Commercial Lease Litigation: Retail, office, and industrial tenancies in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and surrounding markets often involve personal guaranties, percentage rent, common area charges, and renewal options that make the dispute as much about contract interpretation as possession.
• Wrongful Lockouts and Self-Help: Landlords who change locks, shut off utilities, or remove a tenant’s property without a court order invite liability. We advise landlords on proper process and represent tenants who were removed unlawfully.
• Landlord Failure to Maintain the Premises: A tenant who gives written notice of a material failure to comply with the landlord’s obligations and waits seven days without a fix may have the right to terminate. These cases often become counterclaims in an eviction.
• Security Deposits and Unpaid Rent Claims: Money claims for back rent, damages, and withheld deposits, which can be brought in small claims, county court, or circuit court depending on the amount in controversy.
• Month-to-Month and Holdover Tenancies: When there is no fixed lease term, a tenancy ends by written notice delivered in the manner Florida law requires, and mistakes in that notice can invalidate the termination.
• Co-Owned and Inherited Rental Property: When owners disagree about whether to keep renting, sell, or buy one another out, the lease dispute is really an ownership dispute that may call for a partition action or a title claim.

What a Landlord or Tenant Should Do Right After a Notice Is Served

The first thing to do is read the notice carefully and count the days. A three-day nonpayment notice is measured differently from a seven-day notice to cure a lease violation, and a seven-day notice of termination for an incurable violation gives the tenant that period to vacate rather than to fix anything. Landlords should confirm that the notice matches the actual default, was delivered in a manner the statute allows, and states what the law requires it to state. Tenants should keep the notice, note exactly when and how it arrived, and gather rent receipts, bank records, texts, emails, and photographs of any conditions they plan to rely on.

Partial payments deserve special caution. A landlord who accepts part of the rent after serving the nonpayment notice does not necessarily lose the right to evict, but the landlord must handle the payment correctly: give the tenant a written receipt showing the date, the amount, and the agreed date and balance due, deposit the money into the court registry when filing for possession, or serve a fresh three-day notice for the reduced amount. Skipping that step is one of the most common ways an otherwise winning landlord case gets undone.

Where the case is filed depends on what is being asked. Possession and money claims within the county court’s jurisdictional range go to county court, with small claims handling the lowest-dollar disputes, while larger claims and cases that combine lease issues with contract, fraud, or ownership questions belong in circuit court. In Palm Beach County, that means the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, with civil matters heard at the main courthouse in West Palm Beach and branch courthouses serving other parts of the county, including the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach, which is convenient for many Boca Raton-area parties. In Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit hears these cases at the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and at the North, South, and West Regional Courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. Large commercial disputes in Broward may qualify for the circuit’s complex business division through its direct-filing procedure, and federal court in Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach becomes an option when the parties and claims meet federal jurisdictional requirements.

The most damaging mistakes are predictable. Landlords try self-help remedies like changing locks or removing belongings. Tenants ignore a summons because they assume the dispute can be worked out informally. Both sides rely on a verbal understanding that contradicts the written lease. Speaking with a South Florida landlord tenant lawyer before responding to a notice, a summons, or a demand letter lets you pick the right track before a deadline decides it for you.

How Lease Claims Overlap With Contract, Fraud, and Ownership Law

Because a lease is a contract, the limitations periods that govern contract claims apply to many landlord tenant disputes beyond eviction. A claim founded on a written lease generally must be filed within five years, while a claim built on an oral or implied agreement has four years. Fraud claims, such as a tenant who induced a lease with false financial statements, carry a four-year period measured from discovery, subject to an outer limit of 12 years. A suit for specific performance has a much shorter window of one year, which matters when a lease includes an option to purchase or a right of first refusal. Negligence-based claims, such as injury from a poorly maintained common area, are now subject to a two-year period for causes of action that accrued after the 2023 amendment.

Commercial tenancies add another layer. When a tenant is an LLC or corporation whose owners are fighting, the lease dispute can become a vehicle for the larger conflict: one member stops paying rent from company funds, another occupies the space personally, or a deadlocked company cannot decide whether to renew. Florida allows a court to dissolve an LLC when members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when it is no longer reasonably practicable to operate under the operating agreement, and the court may appoint a receiver or custodian. A landlord dealing with a tenant in that situation needs to know who has authority to sign, surrender, or settle.

Property ownership disputes also surface through leases. If co-owners cannot agree about a rental property, Florida’s partition statutes allow a court to divide the property or order it sold, and quiet title actions can resolve competing claims that cloud a landlord’s right to lease at all. Injunctive relief may be available when a party is about to transfer, strip, or destroy property while the dispute is pending. Our attorneys handle these related proceedings alongside the lease claim, so the strategy stays consistent across every front.

Landlord Tenant Questions We Hear Most Often

How long does a Florida landlord have to give a tenant before filing for eviction over unpaid rent?

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

What notice is required for other lease violations?

For violations that can be fixed, the landlord’s notice must state that the tenant has seven days from delivery to correct the problem or the lease will be terminated. For violations that cannot be cured, such as intentional property destruction, the landlord can instead deliver a notice giving the tenant seven days to vacate.

Can a landlord accept partial rent and still evict?

Yes, but the landlord must follow the statute. Accepting partial rent does not by itself waive the right to terminate or sue, yet the landlord must provide a written receipt with the date, amount, and new balance due, deposit the payment into the court registry when filing, or serve a new three-day notice reflecting the lower amount.

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

A tenant may be able to terminate when the landlord materially fails to meet statutory or lease obligations and does not fix the problem within seven days of the tenant’s written notice. The notice should be in writing, specific, and kept on file, because the termination right depends on following the procedure.

How is a month-to-month tenancy ended?

A tenancy with no fixed duration ends by written notice given in the manner Florida law prescribes for termination notices. The notice requirements vary with the type of tenancy, so the lease type should be identified before any notice is sent.

Which court handles my landlord tenant case?

It depends on the claim and the amount at stake. Small claims handles the lowest-value disputes, county court handles mid-range claims, and circuit court handles larger claims and cases involving broader contract, fraud, or ownership issues. The nature of the relief sought matters as well as the dollar figure.

Can a landlord change the locks to force a tenant out?

No. Removing a tenant through lockouts, utility shutoffs, or taking belongings without a court order exposes the landlord to liability. The lawful path is notice, followed by a court action for possession and enforcement through the proper process.

What if my commercial tenant stopped paying and the personal guarantor lives out of state?

A guaranty is a separate contract obligation, and a landlord can pursue the guarantor along with the tenant. We regularly handle Florida proceedings for clients and counterparties in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, so an out-of-state guarantor does not prevent a claim from moving forward here.

Is a lease dispute different when the tenant is a business whose owners are fighting each other?

Often, yes. When members or shareholders are deadlocked or accusing one another of diverting funds, it can be unclear who can renew, surrender, or settle a lease. Those internal disputes can lead to court-supervised remedies like a custodian or receiver, which affects how a landlord should proceed and who should be named in a claim.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller landlord tenant dispute?

Often it is, because procedural errors in notices and filings are costly and are not always correctable. A short consultation can confirm whether a notice is valid, whether a payment was handled properly, and whether the amount at stake justifies court or a negotiated resolution.

Do landlord tenant cases always end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiated move-out agreements, payment plans, mediation, or arbitration where the lease requires it. We look for the route that serves your goals and your budget, and we prepare for court in case settlement does not work.

Serving Landlord and Tenant Clients Across Palm Beach and Broward Counties

We represent landlords, tenants, and property owners throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County. In Palm Beach County, our clients come from Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Lantana, and Belle Glade. In Broward County, we serve those in Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Plantation, Sunrise, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Davie, Weston, and Coconut Creek.

Many of our clients own shopping centers, small commercial buildings, rental homes, and investment condominiums in these communities while living in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. We handle the local filings and courthouse appearances for them, and we keep them informed at every stage so they can manage a South Florida property dispute from wherever they live.

Speak With a South Florida Landlord Tenant Attorney Today

Lease disputes reward the party who acts correctly and early. If you are a landlord who needs to terminate a tenancy properly, or a tenant who has received a notice or summons and needs to understand your position, our South Florida landlord tenant attorney team can review the lease, the notices, and the timeline and tell you where you stand. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to schedule a consultation and get a clear plan for resolving the dispute.