Are you a Commercial Landlord that is having trouble collecting the rent?
Do you have a Commercial Tenant that won’t pay the rent?
The law is on your side. Here is why:
- Under Florida Statute 83.232(5), a Commercial Tenant is required to deposit rent into the court registry as the rent accrues. “The tenant is required, even without court order, to make payments into the court registry when due. Where the court enters an order requiring payment, those payments are also to be made as they accrue… ” Poal WK Taft, LLC v. Johnson Medical Center Corp., 45 So.3d 37, 39 (Fla. 4DCA 2010).
- When a Commercial Tenant fails to deposit the rent into the court registry, a Florida Commercial Landlord can ask the court to issue a judgment for possession without giving the tenant a court hearing. “Where the tenant has not paid the rent into the registry of the court in accordance with court order and statute, the landlord is entitled to a writ of possession without further hearing. Poal WK Taft, LLC v. Johnson Medical Center Corp., 45 So.3d 37, 39 (Fla 4DCA 2010).
- The trial court does not have the discretion to extend the date of the required rent deposit. “The trial court exercises no discretion, and the landlord is entitled to the issuance of a writ of possession as a matter of right.” Poal WK Taft, LLC v. Johnson Medical Center Corp., 45 So.3d 37, 39 (Fla. 4DCA 2010). See also, 214 Main Street Corp. v. Tanksley, 947 So.2d 490 (Fla. 2DCA 2007); Stetson Management, Inc. v. Fiddler’s Elbow, Inc., 18 So.3d 317 (Fla. 2DCA 2009); and Kosoy Kendall Associates, LLC v. Los Latinos Restaurant, Inc., 10 So.3d 1168 (Fla. 3 DCA 2009).
- The issuance of the judgment for possession in favor of the Commercial Landlord is mandatory. Not only does the trial court have no discretion, the trial court may not even consider the Commercial Tenant’s reason for the late payment. “…trial courts have no discretion in entering an immediate default for possession under these circumstances. The trial court may not consider the reasons why the deposit was not timely made.” DTRS Intercontinental Miami, LLC v. A.K. Gift Shop, Inc., 77 So.3d 785,787 (Fla. 3DCA 2012).
- The issuance of the judgment for possession in favor of the Commercial Landlord is a ministerial duty which can be compelled. In Palm Beach Marketplace, LLC v. Ayeda’s Mexican Restaurant, Inc., 103 So.3d 911 (Fla. 4DCA 2012), the Commercial Landlord petitioned to compel the trial court to enter a default and issue a writ of possession after the Commercial Tenant failed to comply with the requirements of Florida Statute 83.232(5). The Fourth District Court of Appeal granted the petition to compel and said: “As the landlord demonstrates, the trial court has a ministerial duty to provide the remedies set forth in the statute.”
If you are a Commercial Landlord and your Commercial Tenant won’t pay the rent, the law is on your side. Using Florida Statute 83.232(5), I can help you put the tenant out.
Let Pinellas County Eviction Lawyer, Daniel Kortenhaus help you with collecting unpaid rent as a Commercial Landlord – contact today!