Eviction Laws in Plantation, Florida
Plantation is a tree-lined city of roughly 95,000 directly west of Fort Lauderdale, and it has long been Broward County’s quintessential corporate suburb. Office campuses along the University Drive and Broward Boulevard corridors — including the legacy Motorola campus area and a cluster of regional headquarters and back-office operations — give the city a white-collar employment base that shows up clearly in its tenant pool: about 48% of Plantation renters hold college degrees, the most educated renter population in the Broward suburbs. The housing landscape runs from the acreage estates and equestrian-scale lots of Plantation Acres to golf-course communities around Jacaranda, condo corridors like Plantation Pines, and the premium East Plantation and Chelsea submarkets closest to Fort Lauderdale. The city’s center of gravity is shifting too, as the Plantation Walk mixed-use district rises on the old Fashion Mall site and the Broward Mall area cycles through redevelopment, adding newer rental product to a market where roughly 36% of households rent.
Florida’s eviction framework under F.S. Chapter 83 applies uniformly across Plantation and Broward County. For nonpayment of rent, landlords must serve a written 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate — excluding weekends and legal holidays — before filing. For curable lease violations, a 7-Day Notice to Cure applies; for serious or incurable violations, a 7-Day Unconditional Quit Notice. Once the notice period expires without compliance, the landlord files a Complaint for Eviction with Broward County Court in Fort Lauderdale. The tenant has 5 business days to respond. After a favorable judgment, a Writ of Possession is issued and the tenant has just 24 hours to vacate before the Broward County Sheriff enforces removal. Broward County Court carries one of the highest eviction caseloads in Florida — budget a realistic 3 to 7 week timeline. Florida has no rent control and no security deposit cap, though strict 15/30-day deposit return rules apply.
Plantation & Broward County — Local Rules That Affect Landlords
No rent control. Florida state law preempts local rent regulation and Plantation has none.
A White-Collar Tenant Pool — With White-Collar Expectations. Plantation’s professional renters pay reliably and stay long, but they read leases, know their rights, and document everything. Sloppy notices, informal entry habits, and slow maintenance responses that slide elsewhere get challenged here. Run the tenancy by the book — written notices, prompt documented repairs, statutory entry procedure — and this is one of the smoothest landlord markets in Broward.
Plantation Acres and Large-Lot Rentals. The Acres’ estate-scale properties rent at premiums but carry estate-scale obligations: extensive landscaping, pools, wells and septic on some parcels, and city rules shaped by the area’s rural character. Assign grounds and pool maintenance explicitly in the lease, schedule professional service where the asset justifies it, and inspect on a regular, properly-noticed cadence — deferred care on an acre shows fast and costs five figures.
Redevelopment Repricing. Plantation Walk and the Broward Mall–area projects are pulling newer, amenity-heavy rental supply into the market’s core. If you own older condo or garden-apartment stock nearby, expect tenants to comparison-shop against new lease-ups — price against your actual competitive set and invest in the updates that show (kitchens, floors, in-unit laundry) rather than chasing new-construction rents with a 1990s unit.
Security Deposit Rules. Florida requires written notice to tenants within 30 days of receiving a deposit detailing where it is held and whether it is interest-bearing. Non-compliance forfeits deposit claim rights — a defense tenants and legal aid organizations raise regularly in Broward County eviction proceedings.
Broward County Court — Where Plantation Landlords File
Plantation landlords file eviction actions at Broward County Court, County Civil Division, located at 201 SE 6th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, phone (954) 831-6565, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There is no separate eviction venue in Plantation — all Broward residential eviction filings run through the central courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, just minutes east of the city. File a Complaint for Eviction and pay the filing fee of approximately $185 plus $10 per defendant for summons issuance. Electronic filing is available through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com. The clerk issues a 5-business-day summons served by the Broward County Sheriff or a certified process server. If the tenant does not respond within 5 business days, file a Motion for Default. If the tenant responds and deposits rent into the court registry, a hearing is set. After a favorable judgment, a Writ of Possession is issued and the tenant has 24 hours to vacate before the sheriff executes removal. Self-help eviction — changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities without a court order — is illegal under F.S. § 83.67 and exposes landlords to damages of up to 3 months’ rent plus attorney fees.
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