Can a landlord do their own eviction in Florida?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Hey folks, my guest today is attorney Rob Solomon. He does landlord tenant law. And Rob, you know a question that I get often get asked is; can the average layman out there, who happens to be a landlord, can they do their own eviction process? Will the court clerks give them forms? Will they help them through it step by step? Even if the clerk is going to help them, how realistic is it that the average laymen do their own eviction?

Attorney Rob Solomon: Well, it's pretty tough. You can go buy at any court house a package of landlord tenant forms. I think it's $5. And you seem like you're set to jet when you get this. Except that all of the places that need to be filled in are not explained and to walk this through the court system, and to figure out how you get things in front of judges and what's the next motion you have to sign, and what court order which you would have to prepare, I really don't know how realistic it is for a layman to do that. Unless their planning to learn it once, having that long learning curve and then doing it for years afterwards. Other than that, I would say it's too painful, it's too lengthy. And if you make a mistake, you're going to end up having your case dismissed and you're going to owe the other side their attorney's fees. Not something that is a good day for you.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Would it be practical for a landlord to think in terms of, "Okay, the first eviction I ever do, I'm going to pay Rob Solomon to do it for me and have him teach me the tricks of the trade and maybe the next eviction I will do by myself".

Attorney Rob Solomon: Well sure. I mean, any time you do anything, whether or not you're filing taxes or doing a landlord tenant problem, doesn't it always help to have a copy of somebody who's done it right? And so, sure, that would be a really good starting point, and then you're going to still have a learning curve. But at least you're looking at the whole package of what a proper motion looks like and what a proper complaint looks like.