Miami-Dade Eviction Steps 2026–27: The 3-Day Notice, the 5-Day Answer, the Court Registry and the 24-Hour Writ
Florida moves evictions faster than almost any other state, and Miami-Dade follows the same state rules. The deadlines are counted in days, not weeks. The single biggest reason people lose without ever seeing a judge is a deadline most tenants have never heard of: the requirement to pay rent into the court registry within five business days of being served.
This guide walks through each step in the order it happens in a Miami-Dade nonpayment eviction, what the papers actually say, and where to get free legal help. It isn't legal advice, and if you've been served, calling a lawyer the same day is the best thing you can do.
Last checked October 2026. Sources: Florida Statutes sections 83.56, 83.60 and 83.62 (Online Sunshine); the Miami-Dade Clerk's Residential Eviction Summons (form CLK/CT. 141, revised 12/25); Florida Supreme Court Form 1.947(b), Answer—Residential Eviction, as posted by the Clerk; the Clerk's Landlord & Tenant Disputes page; and Legal Services of Greater Miami. Court practices can change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the Clerk or a lawyer.
The Short Version
Step 1, the 3-day notice: your landlord demands the rent or possession within 3 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and court holidays.
Step 2, the lawsuit: if you don't pay, the landlord files an eviction in Miami-Dade County Court and you're served with a summons.
Step 3, your 5 days: within 5 days, not counting weekends and court holidays, you must file a written answer and pay the rent the complaint says is owed into the court registry, or file a motion asking the judge to decide the amount.
Miss step 3 and the landlord can get a default judgment without a hearing.
Step 4, the writ: after a judgment, the sheriff posts a 24-hour notice, and weekends and holidays don't stop that clock.
Free legal help: Legal Services of Greater Miami, (305) 576-0080.
Step 1: The 3-Day Notice
Under Florida Statutes section 83.56(3), if rent is late and the default continues for 3 days after a written demand, the landlord can end the lease. The 3 days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and the statute says that means court-observed holidays only. So a notice delivered on a Thursday doesn't run out on Sunday. Count Thursday's delivery day out, then Friday, Monday and Tuesday.
The notice should state the amount of rent owed, the address including the county, and a date by which you must pay or move. It can be mailed, handed to you, left at your home if you're not there, or e-mailed if you've agreed to e-mail notices under section 83.505.
A few points in the same section are worth knowing:
Partial payments. A landlord can accept partial rent and still evict. But if they take partial rent after posting the notice, the statute says they must either give you a receipt showing the balance and the agreed due date, put that money in the court registry when they file, or post a new 3-day notice with the new amount.
Lease clauses can't waive it. The statute says the notice requirements can't be waived in the rental agreement.
If you can pay the full amount demanded within the 3 days, do it in a way you can prove, such as a money order or a check with a copy kept. Paying in full by the deadline is one of the listed defenses on the official answer form.
Lease violations other than rent use different notices. For a problem you can fix, such as an unauthorized pet, the landlord gives a 7-day notice to cure. For serious or repeat problems, the landlord can give a 7-day notice to vacate with no chance to fix it.
Step 2: The Eviction Lawsuit and Summons
If the notice runs out without payment, the landlord files a complaint for possession in Miami-Dade County Court. The Clerk's Landlord & Tenant Disputes page says cases must be filed in the court district where the property is located, and the Clerk has an Eviction Filing Court Location Finder online to look up which courthouse handles your address.
You'll be served with a Residential Eviction Summons. It can be handed to you, given to someone who lives with you, or posted at your home. When a landlord serves by posting, the Clerk's page says the landlord must give the Clerk an extra copy of the complaint and a stamped envelope addressed to you, so a copy should also arrive in the mail.
The day you're served is the day your 5-day clock starts. Write that date down.
Step 3: Your 5 Days to Answer and Pay Into the Registry
The Miami-Dade summons is blunt. It says you are entitled to a trial, but you must do all of the following within 5 days, not including Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays for your courthouse, after the papers were given to you, to someone who lives with you, or posted at your home:
Write down why you shouldn't have to move. You can use Florida Supreme Court Form 1.947(b), Answer—Residential Eviction, which the Clerk links on its forms page. File it with the Clerk at one of the county court locations.
Mail or take a copy of your written answer to the landlord, or the landlord's attorney.
Pay the rent that's due to the Clerk, and keep paying it each time rent comes due until the case is over. The summons notes the judge may release this money to the landlord whether you win or lose.
If you disagree with the amount, file a written motion to determine rent together with your answer, and send a copy to the landlord or their attorney.
The summons then says, in capital letters, that if you don't do all of these within 5 days, you may be evicted without a hearing or further notice.
This comes straight from section 83.60(2). If you raise any defense other than having already paid, including a defense that the 3-day notice was defective, you must deposit the rent alleged in the complaint. Failing to deposit it, or to file a motion to determine rent, within 5 business days is "an absolute waiver" of your other defenses, and the landlord is entitled to an immediate default judgment. A motion to determine rent needs documents backing up why the landlord's number is wrong.
If you get a subsidy: public housing tenants and tenants with rent subsidies, such as a voucher, only have to deposit the part of the rent they're responsible for.
What the answer form lets you claim
Form 1.947(b) lists defenses you can check, with a short explanation for each. They include:
The landlord didn't make repairs and you withheld rent after sending written notice (attach a copy).
You don't owe the amount claimed, and you're asking the court to set the deposit (the motion to determine rent).
You offered the full rent before the notice ran out and the landlord refused it.
You paid the rent demanded in the notice.
The landlord accepted rent after sending the notice.
The eviction is retaliation, for example after you complained to a code enforcement agency.
The eviction violates the federal or Florida Fair Housing Act.
You didn't receive the notice, or it was legally incorrect.
The repair defense has its own rule. Section 83.60(1)(b) says it's available only if 7 days passed after you gave the landlord written notice of the problem and said you'd withhold rent because of it.
How to pay the registry
The Clerk's page says eviction registry payments can be made by wire transfer through your bank, using a data form on the Clerk's site, and that only wire transfers are accepted, not ACH. A statutory registry fee must be added, and the Clerk provides a calculator for the total. Payments are applied within 2 business days of receipt. Put the case number, party name, e-mail and sender name on the wire's reference line, because the Clerk says unidentified wires are reversed after 5 business days. Your bank may charge its own fee.
Because the deadline is so short, don't wait until day 5 to start a wire. If you plan to pay in person at a courthouse instead, call the Clerk at 305-275-1155 first to confirm what's accepted at that location.
Miami-Dade courthouse locations on the summons
The summons lists these places to file your answer:
ONS Justice Center Central Court: 20 NW 1st Ave., Room 6.240, Miami 33128
Joseph Caleb Center Court: 5400 NW 22nd Ave., Suite 103, Miami 33142
North Dade Justice Center: 15555 Biscayne Blvd., Room 100, North Miami Beach 33160
Hialeah District Court: 11 East 6th St., Room 100, Hialeah 33010
Coral Gables District Court: 3100 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Room 100, Coral Gables 33134
South Dade Justice Center: 10710 SW 211th St., Room 1200, Miami 33189
Step 4: Judgment and the 24-Hour Writ
If the landlord wins, either after a hearing or by default, the Clerk issues a writ of possession to the sheriff. Section 83.62 says the sheriff puts the landlord in possession after 24 hours' notice posted conspicuously on the home, and that Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays do not pause that 24-hour period.
When the writ is carried out, or afterward, the landlord can move your belongings to or near the property line. The statute says neither the sheriff nor the landlord is responsible for loss or damage to property after it's been removed. If you see a 24-hour notice, move valuables, documents and medications first.
The Clerk's page points tenants to the Miami-Dade Police Department's Court Services Bureau, Civil Process Section, for information on how residential writs are served.
Where to Get Free Help
Legal Services of Greater Miami: (305) 576-0080. Free civil legal help for eligible residents; call as soon as you get a notice or summons. The site has pages in Spanish and Haitian Creole.
The Florida Bar: the summons points tenants to the Bar's Lawyer Referral Service and its legal aid search.
Florida Division of Consumer Services: 1-800-435-7352 for a copy of Chapter 83 or a brochure on the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
Court accommodations: the Eleventh Judicial Circuit's ADA Coordinator is at (305) 349-7175, listed on the summons.
Help paying back rent: the Clerk's page also links to the county's Community Action Agency. Programs and funding change, so ask what's open when you call. Our Miami nonprofits guide below lists other places to try.
A Checklist if You've Just Been Served
Write down the date and time you were served or found the papers posted.
Count 5 days, skipping Saturdays, Sundays and court holidays. That's your deadline.
Call Legal Services of Greater Miami the same day.
Fill out Form 1.947(b), check every defense that applies and explain each briefly.
Gather proof: your lease, rent receipts, the 3-day notice, texts or e-mails, repair requests and photos.
Deposit the rent into the court registry, or file a motion to determine rent with documents if the amount is wrong.
Send a copy of everything you file to the landlord or their lawyer, and keep copies for yourself.
Keep paying rent into the registry every time it comes due until the case ends.
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