Florida’s Governor Extends Moratorium on Evictions and Foreclosures

EXECUTIVE ORDER 20-180 (July 29, 2020): Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 20-180 extending Executive Order 20-94, as amended, on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, extending a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until 12:01 a.m. September 1, 2020.

It is important to note that EO 20-180 does NOT suspend or otherwise affect eviction proceedings UNRELATED to non-payment of rent.

Nothing in EO 20-180 shall be construed as relieving an individual from his or her obligation to make mortgage payments or rent payments.  All payments, including tolled payments, are DUE when an individual is no longer adversely affected by the COVID-19 emergency.

In the event of an eviction for non-payment of rent, it is not clear at this juncture, if the Governor will enter an executive order suspending the requirements of Florida Statute 83.60, which requires a tenant to deposit past due and current rent into the registry of the court in an eviction action for non-payment of rent. If the tenant (defendant) does not deposit the rent, as required, it constitutes an absolute waiver of the tenant’s defenses, other than payment, and the landlord is entitled to an immediate default judgment for removal of tenant.

Tenant: Is My Landlord Required to Accept Partial Rent?

The simple answer is no.  The best course of action is to communicate with your landlord about your options during the eviction moratorium. Some possibilities include:

• Temporarily pausing your rent payments;
• Working out a reduced rent payment amount; trying to pay something;
• Extending a timeline to repay rental debt; such as paying a portion of past due rent each month with your current rental payment.

Always, always keep a written record of any agreements that are made between the landlord and tenant – including expectations of how much rent will be repaid and when. Tenants need to be sure to compile any documents that show their inability to pay rent, or inability to pay rent in full, during this crisis. Again, it is extremely important to communicate with you landlord.

Florida law requires that notices to and from a landlord MUST BE IN WRITING and must be either HAND-DELIVERED OR MAILED, even if the rental agreement is oral.  You should always retain a copy of any correspondence to and from your landlord.