Florida Unlawful Detainer vs. Eviction: Chapter 82 or Chapter 83, and the 3-Day Notice Rule Owners Must Get Right

Owner Guide · Florida Landlord-Tenant Law · Palm Beach County, FL

By Jean Taveras, Broker-Owner, Atlis Property Management · Updated October 2026

Owners use the word eviction for every situation where someone will not leave a home. Florida law does not. It has one process for tenants and separate remedies for people who are in a home without the right to be there, with different notices, filing rules, and damages. Picking the wrong one is a common reason a possession case stalls.

This guide explains what each chapter actually says, how to tell which one fits, the newer remedies for unauthorized occupants, and the mistakes that cost owners weeks. It is general information, not legal advice. For the step-by-step tenant case, read our complete guide to the Florida eviction process.

Two Chapters, Two Different Cases

Florida's residential landlord-tenant law is Part II of Chapter 83. It governs the relationship between a landlord and a tenant, and Section 83.43 defines a tenant as a person entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental agreement. A rental agreement can be a written lease with its addenda, or an oral agreement for a duration of less than one year. When the relationship ends and the tenant stays, the landlord's path is an action for possession under §83.59.

Chapter 82 is older and broader. It covers forcible entry, unlawful entry, and unlawful detention of real property. Under §82.03, a person entitled to possession, including a record titleholder, may sue someone who obtained possession by forcible entry, unlawful entry, or unlawful detention, and recover possession and damages. Section 82.01 defines unlawful detention as possessing real property without the consent of the person entitled to possession, or after that consent is withdrawn.

The line between them is drawn in §82.02, which says plainly that Chapter 82 does not apply to residential tenancies under Part II of Chapter 83. If the person in your home is a tenant, you are in Chapter 83, with its notices, timelines, and tenant protections.

When the Occupant Is a Tenant: Chapter 83

Most situations owners face involve a tenant, and that stays true when the lease has expired, the rent has stopped, or the tenancy was never written down.

• Unpaid rent. Under §83.56(3), the landlord delivers a written demand for rent or possession, and the tenant has 3 days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and court-observed legal holidays, to pay or move. Our article on why Florida's nonpayment notice is still 3 days covers the most common drafting error.
• Lease violations. Section 83.56(2) provides a 7-day notice, either to cure or, for certain violations, to vacate without a chance to cure. The notice has to match the violation.
• Expired lease or month-to-month. A month-to-month tenancy ends with 30 days' written notice under §83.57(3). A tenant who holds over without permission can be removed under §83.59, and §83.58 allows the landlord to recover double rent for the holdover period.
• Notice delivery. How a notice is delivered matters as much as what it says. Our guide to the notice rules Palm Beach County landlords must follow explains the delivery options, including email where the lease allows it.

Once the notice period runs, the landlord files a complaint for possession in the county court where the home sits. Under §83.59, a landlord's agent may file the initial complaint but cannot take further action unless the agent is an attorney. If the tenant raises any defense other than payment, §83.60(2) requires the tenant to pay the accrued rent alleged into the court registry, plus rent as it comes due, or move to determine the amount, within five days of service, excluding weekends and legal holidays, or lose those defenses. After judgment, §83.62 has the sheriff post 24 hours' notice before putting the landlord back in possession.

Self-help is never part of the process

Whatever the facts, §83.67 bars a landlord from cutting off utilities, changing the locks, removing doors or windows, or removing a tenant's belongings to force a tenant out. The lawful route back into a tenant-occupied home runs through the court, unless the tenant surrenders or abandons it as §83.59(3) describes.

When the Occupant Is Not a Tenant: Chapter 82

Chapter 82 is for people who never had, or no longer have, the owner's consent to be there and were never tenants: a person who entered a vacant home without permission, or an occupant who stays after the owner withdraws permission when no rental agreement ever existed.

Three differences matter. Section 82.03 does not require notice before filing. The case moves by summary procedure under §51.011, advanced on the calendar. And if the detention was willful and knowingly wrongful, the court must award double the reasonable rental value until possession is returned, plus damages such as waste.

Under §82.04, the court decides only possession and damages, not title unless necessary. If the defendant cannot be found after two service attempts at least six hours apart, §82.05 allows posting at the property with mailed copies, and at least five days must pass before a final judgment. Then §82.091 provides a writ of possession executed without delay.

Transient Occupants and Unauthorized Persons: The Newer Remedies

Florida has added two faster tools. They are narrow on purpose, and each carries a penalty for misuse.

Transient occupants, §82.035

A transient occupant, under §82.035, is someone whose stay in a home has been brief, is not under a lease, and was intended to be temporary. If the owner directs the person to leave and they remain, a law enforcement officer who receives a sworn affidavit setting out the statutory factors may direct the person to surrender possession. The owner may also sue under §82.03.

Protections run the other way too. A person wrongfully removed may sue. If a court finds the occupant is actually a tenant, it must let the owner serve the Chapter 83 notice and amend into an eviction rather than dismiss. And the former occupant gets a reasonable chance, generally within ten days, to recover belongings.

Unauthorized persons, §82.036

Under §82.036, an owner or the owner's authorized agent may ask the sheriff to remove unauthorized persons from a residential dwelling without a lawsuit, but only when every condition is met: they entered unlawfully and remain, the property was not open to the public, the owner directed them to leave, they are not current or former tenants under a written or oral rental agreement, they are not the owner's immediate family, and no litigation between the parties is pending. The complaint is verified under penalty of perjury.

If verified, the sheriff serves a notice to immediately vacate and puts the owner in possession. Getting it wrong is costly: a person wrongfully removed can recover actual damages plus triple the fair market rent, costs, and attorney fees. For homes that sit empty part of the year, our guide to home watch versus property management explains the routine visits that keep an empty home checked.

How to Tell Which Process Fits Your Situation

The deciding question is the relationship, not how unwelcome the person is. Work through these with your attorney before any notice goes out.

1. Was there ever a rental agreement? A signed lease, a renewal, an oral agreement, or rent paid and accepted on a regular schedule all point to a tenancy under Chapter 83.
2. Who let the person in? A guest of your tenant is usually a lease matter with the tenant. Entry into a vacant home without permission points toward Chapter 82.
3. Was the stay meant to be temporary? The §82.035 factors help separate a transient occupant from a tenant.
4. Is the person family? Section 82.036 excludes immediate family of the owner, so those cases generally go to court.
5. Is any litigation pending? A pending case between the owner and the occupant also takes §82.036 off the table.

Section 83.42 also excludes some occupancies from the landlord-tenant law entirely, such as hotel-type transient lodging and certain contracts of sale. Our guide to legal compliance in Palm Beach County property management covers the wider rule set.

Common Mistakes Owners Make With Unlawful Detainer and Eviction

• Filing unlawful detainer against a tenant. Section 82.02 excludes residential tenancies, so the clock restarts with the correct notice.
• Calling a tenant a squatter. An occupant who once paid rent under an agreement with the owner is a former tenant, and §82.036 does not apply.
• Skipping the notice in a tenant case. A defective or missing 3-day or 7-day notice is the most common reason a tenant eviction stalls.
• Self-help. Changing locks or shutting off utilities on a tenant violates §83.67, no matter how much rent is owed.
• Letting an agent go beyond the complaint. Under §83.59, a non-attorney agent can file the initial eviction complaint and nothing more.
• Ignoring belongings. Both §83.62 and §82.035 address personal property. Our article on items left behind by tenants covers the tenant side.

Prevention: Fewer Cases in the First Place

The cheapest possession case is the one that never starts. Our tenant screening standard applies written criteria to every applicant, and our article on evaluating applicants with prior evictions explains how to read an eviction record fairly.

Keep vacant homes checked and locked, and put every occupancy in writing before keys change hands. Our guide to a compliant Florida lease lists what a lease should cover.

How Atlis Handles Possession Problems

Atlis is a residential property manager, and possession cases are legal matters, so the court work belongs to the owner's Florida attorney. Our job is to keep the lease, ledger, notices, and delivery records organized, follow a written late-rent process, and hand the attorney a complete file when a filing is needed. Our eviction coordination page describes that hand-off. Atlis collects 98% or more of rent each month.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are facing a possession problem, or want a lease and rent process that keeps you out of court, we will walk you through how Atlis manages it. For anything already headed to court, speak with a Florida landlord-tenant attorney.