Your tenant in Orlando paid on the first of the month for two straight years. Then October's rent never landed, and November's didn't either. Your texts went unanswered while the unit still carried a mortgage payment with zero income coming in. Ask what an eviction actually costs in Florida and the honest answer is two numbers: roughly $3,100–$5,800 if the tenant never answers, and $8,300–$13,000 if the tenant contests.
What is the total cost of eviction in Florida?
Uncontested filings cost roughly $535–$800 in court and legal costs before lost rent, and all-inclusive representation reaches about $2,000. Add 1–1.5 months of lost rent and the uncontested total lands at $3,100–$5,800. Once the tenant contests, legal fees alone climb to $3,000–$5,000 or more, and the total reaches $8,300–$13,000 before turnover. Whether the tenant answers and deposits rent within five business days determines whether the case proceeds by default or becomes contested.
Respondents to the NAA member survey reported an average total eviction cost of $6,767, counting legal fees, court fees, lost rental income, turnover, and marketing. TransUnion SmartMove estimates a $3,500–$10,000 total range. Platuni's Florida-specific cost analysis estimates $900–$1,500 in direct legal and court fees plus $2,500–$4,000 in lost rent and turnover.
Florida eviction process overview
The eviction process in Florida follows a core sequence for most residential cases, although the notice and damages tracks vary. The clerk collects the filing fee, the sheriff or a private server handles service, and the sheriff also executes the writ. The sequence runs as follows:
- Serve the required notice. You pay nothing here unless you outsource delivery to a process server, and you cannot file until the 3-day period fully expires.
- File the complaint. The clerk collects the filing fee ($185 possession-only at every major county) plus $10 per summons.
- Serve the summons. The sheriff charges $40 per defendant; private servers run $45–$105 depending on speed.
- Wait out the tenant's 5-business-day answer window. The Bay County eviction packet says you can move for default on the sixth day if the tenant files no answer and deposits no rent into the court registry.
- Obtain judgment. A default judgment requires motions and an affidavit of damages; a contested judgment requires hearings.
- Execute the writ of possession. The sheriff posts a 24-hour notice and removes the tenant, for $90 in most counties.
The Hillsborough County Clerk estimates that the whole uncontested sequence takes 3–6 weeks end-to-end. Contested cases stretch to 2–3 months or more.
Eviction notice types
A nonpayment of rent case starts with a Three-Day Notice to pay or vacate. The three-day count excludes the day of delivery as well as Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, so you cannot file until the notice fully expires. Nonpayment is also where adding a damages count makes sense, because § 83.625's mandatory money judgment applies specifically to nonpayment actions, which makes the two-count complaint standard there.
Lease-violation cases follow a separate notice track under Chapter 83. If the violation is curable, you must serve a 7-Day Notice to Cure, giving the tenant seven days to correct the problem before you can proceed. An incurable violation runs on a 7-day unconditional-quit track instead, with no opportunity for the tenant to remedy the breach. Neither the curable nor incurable lease-violation path produces the mandatory money judgment for back rent, so those cases typically stay on the possession-only $185 path. The same is true when you are terminating a month-to-month tenancy without alleging a violation. Possession only keeps you at $185; a damages count moves you to $300 or $400.
Court filing fees by county
Florida Statute § 34.041 sets the removal-of-tenant filing fee at $180 plus a $4 mandatory add-on. The statutory amounts total $184, but every major clerk posts $185, so budget $185 and confirm with your clerk. The fee schedules for Miami-Dade County, Orange County, Pasco County, and Okaloosa County compare as follows:
- County | Possession-only filing fee | Filing fee with damages | Summons issuance | Sheriff service
- Miami-Dade | $185 | $300 / $400 via general civil tiers | $10 per summons | $40 per defendant
- Orange | $185 (plus $10 eviction packet fee) | $300 / $400 via general civil tiers | $10 per summons | $40 per defendant
- Pasco | $185 | $300 (damages up to $15,000); $400 ($15,000–$30,000) | $10; $17 if the clerk prepares it | $40 (§ 30.231 rate)
- Okaloosa | $185 | $300 ($8,000–$15,000); $400 ($15,000–$50,000) | $10, plus $7 if the clerk prepares it | $40 per person
Adding a damages count reclassifies the case into the general civil fee tiers. Damages of $2,500 or less add nothing; $2,501–$15,000 pushes the fee to $300 (a $115 bump); over $15,000 costs $400 (a $215 bump). Since most nonpayment cases involve several months of back rent, expect the $300 tier if you pursue a money judgment. Volusia County charges the same $185 for eviction with damages up to $50,000.
Service of process fees: sheriff vs. private process server
The county sheriff handles service of process for $40 per summons served under Florida Statute § 30.231. The sheriff earns the nonrefundable fee when you submit the service request. Orange County publishes a 7–10 business day service window, so there the sheriff is cheaper but slower; timelines vary by county.
Private servers usually move faster and often cost more. 2025 industry benchmarks put routine service at $65–$95. In Pinellas County you don't get a choice: the Pinellas Sheriff does not serve non-enforceable civil summonses for private landlords, so a private server is mandatory at the summons stage there.
Attorney fees: flat-fee services vs. full representation
Filing pro se costs nothing in attorney fees and still leaves you the roughly $235 in clerk and sheriff fees, plus the risk of a defective notice or complaint. For uncontested cases, Florida firms publish flat rates spanning a wide band because each firm bundles different services:
- Firm | Flat attorney fee | Court costs included?
- Kelley, Grant & Tanis (statewide) | $295 | No; roughly $535 all-in for one tenant
- EvictMyTenant (statewide, online) | $450 | No; roughly $678–$793 all-in
- Chris Fiori (any county) | $500 | No; about $750 estimated, excluding the sheriff's writ fee
- Landlord Law P.A. (Tampa area) | $699 | Yes; filing fees and initial service included
- Bress Law Firm (Miami/Broward) | $795 | No
- Ryan S. Shipp (Palm Beach/statewide) | $2,000 | Yes; all costs and up to two court appearances included
Most firms switch to hourly billing once a tenant contests the case. A case turns contested when the tenant files a defense and litigates after depositing rent into the court registry, adding hearings and discovery that a flat fee no longer fits. Contested retainers commonly start around $250 when the tenant has no attorney and $500 when the tenant has counsel, and hourly billing runs $250–$375. A Florida fee guide says a case involving additional litigation through trial preparation typically costs $3,000–$5,000 or more.
Writ of possession: court fee and sheriff execution cost
The writ has two potential line items, and the first one usually costs nothing. Florida's Attorney General has confirmed there is no statutory clerk fee: no statute authorizes the clerk to charge for issuing a residential writ of possession under s. 83.62, F.S. A few counties charge anyway; Duval collects $7 when the clerk issues a writ with a raised seal.
The sheriff's execution fee is the real cost. Most sheriffs calculate the $90 charge from the $40 service fee plus a $50 levy fee under § 30.231. Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Duval, Pinellas, Lee, and Polk all charge $90. Miami-Dade charges $115 per writ per address, plus $70.80 per hour per deputy if execution runs past one hour, and Orange County adds $40 per hour per deputy for standby after the first hour. Once you pay the fee, the sheriff posts a 24-hour notice on the door; weekends and holidays do not pause that clock. Kelley Grant Law reports that removal in practice lands 48–72 hours after posting.
Hidden costs: lost rent, property damage, and turnover
Lost rent dwarfs every court and sheriff fee combined. A 2024 BFI working paper estimates landlords' direct eviction costs at 2–3 months of rent, plus an average of 2 months of vacancy afterward. And the eviction timeline only starts at the notice; the months of nonpayment before you served it are already gone. In Miami-Dade, where the Miami-Dade rent index sits at $2,879 per month, a contested case running 2–3 months means $5,758–$8,637 in lost rent alone.
Turnover expenses pile on from there:
- Deep cleaning runs $150–$500 across Florida, and an Orlando eviction cleanout costs $349–$899. Heavier damage pushes turnover toward the top of these ranges, since repairs alone can run $500–$2,000+, and a severely damaged unit can exceed $3,000 in total turnover.
- Interior repainting runs $400–$1,200 in Orlando.
- Locksmith fees for re-keying run $15–$25 per lock, up to $250 per door on one Florida property manager's post-eviction schedule.
- Tenant placement fees run 50–100% of one month's rent, plus $50–$200 in listing advertising.
- Listings sat a median of 63 days in Miami and 38 in Jacksonville as of July 2026.
Under § 83.62, when the sheriff executes the writ you may move the tenant's abandoned property "to or near the property line," and neither you nor the sheriff is liable for it afterward. If abandoned property turns up later, Chapter 715 offers an optional notice-and-disposal procedure: give 10 days' notice when you hand-deliver it or 15 days when you mail it, and property worth over $500 requires a public sale. You front the storage cost, and you may require the tenant to pay reasonable storage before reclaiming the property (a 10x10 unit averages $127 per month in Florida).
Uncontested vs. contested evictions: how costs escalate
Whether the tenant answers and deposits rent within five business days determines how sharply costs escalate. Under § 83.60, a tenant raising any defense other than payment must deposit accrued rent into the court registry; failure to do so within 5 business days "constitutes an absolute waiver of the tenant's defenses other than payment," entitling you to immediate default judgment. A tenant who answers and deposits gets hearings that may include a Motion to Determine Rent, and the case may proceed to mediation or even a jury trial on written demand. Using Florida's $2,500 statewide median rent for the lost-rent rows, the two paths compare as follows:
- Cost line | Uncontested | Contested
- Filing, summons, sheriff service | ~$235 | ~$235, plus $115–$215 more if claiming damages over $2,500
- Attorney fees | $295–$2,000 flat | $3,000–$5,000+ at $250–$375/hr
- Writ of possession execution | $90 ($115 in Miami-Dade) | $90 ($115 in Miami-Dade)
- Lost rent (statewide median) | $2,500–$3,750 (1–1.5 months) | $5,000–$7,500 (2–3 months)
- Timeline | 3–6 weeks | 2–3 months or more
- Approximate total before turnover | $3,100–$5,800 | $8,300–$13,000+
Your rent and county determine your total. At Jacksonville's $1,456 median, the contested lost-rent row falls to $2,912–$4,368. An appeal pushes the number higher still, adding weeks of lost rent while the tenant remains in possession, and busy South Florida dockets do the same: DiscoveryMark's May 2026 guide says those dockets add 1–2 weeks to contested timelines.
Can you recover eviction costs from the tenant?
Florida law is on your side here, at least on paper. § 83.48 lets the prevailing party in any action to enforce a rental agreement "recover reasonable attorney fees and court costs from the nonprevailing party," and that right cannot be waived in a lease. In a nonpayment case, § 83.625 goes further: when the court awards possession, it "shall direct the entry of a money judgment with costs" for the unpaid rent. A lease clause identifying recoverable charges, including late fees and litigation expenses, still makes the claim easier to prove.
To obtain a money judgment, you must arrange personal service on the tenant or use authorized mail. Posting the summons on the door gets you possession, but you'll need separate personal service to get the damages judgment, which is why the standard two-count complaint pairs a 5-day possession count with a 20-day damages count.
Winning the judgment and collecting it are different problems. The Florida Bar says the judgment lasts up to 20 years, but Florida exempts all disposable earnings of a head of family earning $750 or less per week from garnishment under § 222.11, and homestead property is exempt from forced sale. Many evicted tenants are judgment-proof in practice; the paper has value mainly against tenants with non-exempt income or assets.
How to reduce the cost of eviction in Florida
Most of the levers sit before the eviction ever starts, or in its first week.
- Get the notice right the first time. The 3-day count excludes the day of delivery as well as weekends and legal holidays, so filing early leaves the case open to challenge.
- Screen harder up front. Stronger tenant screening reduces the risk of incurring costs that averaged $6,767 in the NAA survey.
- If you own multiple doors, reserve against that figure per expected eviction rather than per unit, and treat the reserve as a line item alongside taxes, insurance, and your other rental property costs in Florida.
- Match the legal service to the case. A $295–$500 flat-fee attorney is cheap insurance for a straightforward nonpayment default, while a tenant who has already lawyered up warrants full representation from day one.
A self-help eviction is never a cost-saving move. Do not change the locks, cut the power, or remove a tenant's belongings. § 83.67 prohibits utility shutoffs, lockouts, and removing the tenant's property outside a lawful eviction, and it makes the violating landlord liable for "actual and consequential damages or 3 months' rent, whichever is greater, and costs, including attorney's fees." The math is punishing: on an $1,800 unit, one lockout carries a minimum $5,400 exposure plus the tenant's legal bills, and repeated violations trigger separate awards.
A DP3 landlord policy's loss-of-rent coverage pays fair rental value only when a covered peril makes the unit uninhabitable. It does not pay when a tenant stops paying, and it doesn't cover eviction filing costs. Standalone nonpayment products go further; SureVestor, for example, caps covered legal fees at $5,000 and sheriff fees at $600. Steadily writes landlord insurance in Florida, and insurers commonly cap loss of rental income coverage at 12 months of fair rental value. Get a quote at quote.steadily.com.
FAQ
The eight questions Florida landlords ask most, with figures.
How much does it cost to file an eviction with damages in Florida?
Possession-only filings stay at the $185 baseline. Adding a damages claim of $2,501–$15,000 raises the fee to $300 in most counties; Volusia stays at $185 up to $50,000. Claims over $15,000 cost $400, and damages of $2,500 or less add nothing. Tier breakpoints vary slightly by county, with Okaloosa's $300 tier starting above $8,000.
What is the average total cost of an eviction in Florida?
The NAA's 2025 survey found an average all-in cost of $6,767 including legal fees and lost rent, plus turnover. Florida-specific estimates run $900–$1,500 in direct legal and court fees plus $2,500–$4,000 in lost rent and turnover for a typical case.
How much do eviction attorneys charge in Florida?
Flat fees for uncontested cases run from about $295 (attorney fee only) to $2,000 (fee bundling all costs). Contested cases bill hourly at $250–$375 and commonly total $3,000–$5,000 or more.
How much does the sheriff charge to execute a writ of possession?
The sheriff charges $90 in most Florida counties under § 30.231. Miami-Dade charges $115 per writ per address, plus $70.80 per hour per deputy if the eviction runs past one hour.
How much more does a contested eviction cost than an uncontested one?
Roughly two to three times as much. Attorney fees jump from a $295–$2,000 flat rate to $3,000–$5,000+, the timeline stretches from 3–6 weeks to 2–3 months or more, and lost rent doubles or triples accordingly.
How much rent do landlords lose during a Florida eviction?
At the $2,500 statewide median, expect $2,500–$3,750 uncontested and $5,000–$7,500 contested, before counting the unpaid months that preceded the notice or the vacancy afterward. Miami-Dade landlords lose more; Jacksonville landlords less.
Can you make the tenant pay your eviction costs?
Yes. § 83.48 awards the prevailing party reasonable attorney fees and court costs, and § 83.625 requires a money judgment for unpaid rent alongside the possession judgment in nonpayment cases, provided you secured personal service on the tenant or used an authorized form of mail. Head-of-family wage exemptions and Florida's homestead protection make collection the harder half of the job.
Why do filing fees differ between Florida counties?
The base $185 possession-only fee is effectively uniform, but counties diverge on extras: Orange adds a $10 eviction packet fee, Pasco and Okaloosa charge $7 more when the clerk prepares the summons, Volusia charges $185 even with damages up to $50,000, and Miami-Dade's sheriff charges $25 above the statewide $90 writ fee.
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