October 2026 Q&A | Property Management Questions Answered | Evict.com

Property Manager Q&A

October 2026 — Answers to Your Toughest Questions

Real questions from property managers. Real legal answers from the Law Offices of Heist, Weisse & Wolk.

Q1 The Eviction in Error — Do We Have to Pay the Tenant’s Attorney?

Question:

We filed an eviction last month in error. The Tenant had actually paid the rent, but my assistant manager just forgot to call our attorney and cancel the case. The Tenant got served with the eviction paperwork and instead of just coming into our office, she went to an attorney who filed an extensive “answer” and a “motion to dismiss”. Our attorney immediately dismissed the case, but is telling us that the Tenant’s attorney is demanding $3000. Do we have to pay this? It was just an innocent mistake.

Key Takeaway: Under Florida law, simply dismissing an eviction that was already filed does not get you off the hook. The Tenant may be entitled to attorney’s fees and costs and this amount could be significant. Always confirm before sending the eviction to your attorney.

Answer:

Unfortunately, even though it was an “innocent” mistake, under Florida law, the Tenant is still considered the “prevailing” or winning party. Since the Tenant went to an attorney who then did legal work on an open eviction case, the Tenant is now entitled to an award of attorney’s fees. The reasoning here is that had there not been an eviction action filed, there would be no need to go to an attorney. Now the $3000 may seem excessive to you, but if the attorney charges $350 an hour, he or she can easily justify the time in preparing and filing the motions. The best thing you can do is get some settlement authorization to your attorney from your regional manager, so your attorney can make the case “go away” quickly. Since the Tenant most likely has not paid her attorney a dime, sadly the case really is about the attorney trying to extract fees from your company. However, most attorneys will take a quick payment for less than initially demanded, so the faster you can settle, the better. You are not going to be happy, but these things happen. Try to implement a system in your office so mistakes like this cannot occur again.

Q2 The Insufficient Notice Fee — The Lease Is Clear, So Why the Dispute?

Question:

One of our Tenants left at the end of his lease without giving notice. He admits it. Our lease requires that the Tenant gives 60 days’ notice. Usually when we do not receive notice, we charge the Tenant an insufficient notice penalty of 2 months’ rent. The Tenant has disputed this in writing after he received his SODA and says that what we are doing is illegal. I don’t understand why, as the lease is clear. On top of that, the unit is still vacant.

Key Takeaway: It is crucial for the property manager to understand how and when you can charge an insufficient notice penalty. Failure to send the Tenant the “reminder” letter or notice within 15 days of the beginning of the required notice period is a serious and all too common mistake.

Answer:

The penalty or fee you are charging may be unlawful. Just because your lease states that the Tenant will be charged an insufficient notice fee of two months’ rent, unless you specifically followed the procedures set out by Florida law, you will not be able to impose the fee. A few years back, Florida law was changed and set out specific rules to follow in order to charge for insufficient notice coinciding with the lease expiration date. The manager must now notify or “remind” the Tenant in writing within 15 days of the beginning of the notice period, be it 30 days or 60 days, of the lease expiration date and that if the Tenant is vacating, the Tenant must give notice to management coinciding with that date, or face charges defined by the lease. The Tenant must also be told what those charges will be. Only if all these things are done can you charge the Tenant for leaving at the end of the lease without proper notice. Now with that all said, you really should not be depending upon the Tenant to give you notice. A proactive property manager will send an offer to renew with a negative notice provision, meaning the Tenant will conditionally be offered a new lease. The offer will include a deadline by which the Tenant will need to come in and sign the new lease, and if the Tenant does not sign a new lease, the offer will indicate the lease shall end. Essentially, the notice management gives turns into a notice of nonrenewal. Judges do not look kindly on penalties, and many judges are going to consider insufficient notice charges to be penalties. When property managers take an alternate approach, they will not have to depend upon the Tenants giving notice or not.

Q3 Convictions and Renewals — Can We Refuse to Renew?

Question:

We are getting ready to send out our renewal letters but were just informed by our courtesy officer that one of our Tenants was recently convicted of a serious crime. The crime did not occur on our property and we had no knowledge of it but normally we would not approve an applicant with this type of felony criminal background. We asked around a bit and it appears that other Tenants knew about this as well, as our Tenant has quite a reputation on the “street”. Can we refuse to renew this person?

Key Takeaway: Unless you have a company policy that all Tenants up for renewal will be rescreened for serious criminal felony convictions, you would be best not to refuse a renewal. Always call us for advice on odd situations. Never pick or choose on a specific Tenant.

Answer:

If you were to conduct a new criminal background check on your Tenants, you probably would find that some were indeed convicted of crimes while they were living on your property. These crimes could be of a serious nature and such that you never would have approved that applicant if the initial background check indicated that crime or crimes. There are no state or federal laws that prohibit you from conducting another criminal background check upon a Tenant prior to offering to renew a lease and there are no laws prohibiting you from deciding not to renew since you discovered this recent conviction. The problem you run into though is with fair housing. If you are not conducting a criminal background check on ALL of your Tenants prior to sending out the lease renewal offer, you may be accused of discrimination. Your company needs to create a policy as to dealing with crimes that your current Tenant may commit, whether they will be renewed or whether you will be running a criminal background check on them. Once this policy is created, it must be followed and consistently performed. The real tricky issues will be if you find a Tenant has been “arrested” for a crime since they moved into your community but the case has not yet been adjudicated meaning they are still not guilty of the crime. Here you have knowledge of possibly a serious crime that the Tenant may or may not eventually be convicted of. Speak with your attorney for advice as if the crime involves a violent act, you may have some liability if another violent act is then committed on your property.