As a commercial landlord, it is inevitable for you to run into issues with your tenants. At some point, you will rent your commercial space to a tenant who does not pay rent on time or breaches other terms of the lease. When this happens, you may feel a lot of anger and frustration.
However, before you rush into evicting an uncooperative tenant, you should make sure you do it correctly. Here are some tips for evicting a commercial tenant in Florida.
1. You should get legal help
Evicting a tenant from your commercial property requires familiarity with the law. Understanding landlord and tenant laws may be difficult. If you try to pursue eviction without a lawyer, you may make some costly errors. An attorney will be able to assist you in filing an order for eviction. Make sure yours is familiar with handling commercial business transactions.
2. Serve the proper notice
If your tenant is not paying rent, you should send him or her a three-day warning. This letter gives your tenant a three-day time period to make up missing payments or leave the property. If the three-day period passes, you should submit a complaint to the court with the help of a lawyer. After this, the tenant may file a countercomplaint. Eventually, you may end up in court to resolve the matter.
3. Do not take matters into your own hands
As angry as you may be with your tenant, do not attempt to take back the property on your own. Resist the temptation to shut off utilities or change locks. Doing things like this will only hurt your case. You cannot simply change locks and hold the commercial property hostage. You must adhere to the legal process of eviction.
Not receiving your rent payments may be infuriating. But instead of acting out in anger, make sure you follow these guidelines.