Florida Governor suspends NEW foreclosure and eviction cases—cases in-progress not affected (April 2, 2020)

You may have read on the news that Florida Governor DeSantis has suspended foreclosure and evictions, and sighed a breath of relief.

Unfortunately, the news media isn’t giving you the whole story.

We got a copy of the Governor’s order and read it. Here’s what it does and does not do:

New Foreclosures

1. No new mortgage foreclosures will be filed for 45 days from April 2, 2020. This appears to apply to both RESIDENTIAL and COMMERCIAL foreclosures.

Currently pending foreclosures

2. Foreclosures that have ALREADY been filed are not suspended by the Governor’s order. If you have an ACTIVE foreclosure case, it DOES NOT stop. Only the Florida Supreme Court has the power to stop pending court case, and they HAVE NOT done so for active foreclosures. What we are seeing is that each foreclosure is proceeding on a case-by-case basis depending on which COUNTY it was filed in and which JUDGE is overseeing the case. In other words, EACH CASE IS DIFFERENT and we have to monitor every active case for our clients to determine what is happening next.

Landlords and tenants

3. If you rent, your landlord cannot file a new eviction case in the court system for 45 days. If you are a landlord, you cannot file a new eviction case in the court system for 45 days. This provision ONLY applies to residential tenants and landlords—not commercial. If you are a tenant or a landlord, you should know that there are things that landlords CANNOT do under Florida law regarding tents who aren’t paying rent. We are available to all our clients who either rent their homes or have tenants in rental property to make sure you know your legal rights.

Duty to pay rent and mortgage

4. You still have the duty to pay your April and May rent or mortgage—this order just prevents you from losing your home during the next 45 days. You still owe that money even if you can’t pay right now. If you want to know your options for LEGALLY deferring mortgage or rent, we are available to discuss those options.

Monitor active cases carefully

5. If you are current client with a pending court case, we are monitoring EVERY active case and we will keep you informed of any developments in your case. WE ARE STILL WORKING FOR YOU even as the rest of the state shuts down. Yes, we are working safely, from remote locations, but we are still on the job for all of our clients.

Here’s a copy of the order:

https://ricardolaw.com/desantis-order-suspending-foreclosures-and-evictions-2020-04-02/

Questions?
If you have questions about how any of this affects you, we are making time slots available for our clients—please call 352-567-3173 for an appointment.