1560-1568 Drexel Avenue, LLC v. Dalton
In a residential eviction, the tenant raised non-payment defenses and a COVID-based argument that the section 83.60(2) rent-posting requirement should be excused; the trial court agreed and later refused to enter a default judgment of possession while the tenant's motion to dismiss remained pending. The Third DCA reversed, holding that once Governor DeSantis's Executive Order 20-180 expired and the CDC moratorium was found inapplicable, section 83.60(2)'s rent-deposit mandate applied absolutely because the tenant did not interpose a defense of payment, and it directed the trial court to determine rent within five days and require deposit of accrued and accruing rent.
Key facts
- Landlord sued to evict residential tenant; tenant raised non-payment defenses and argued that COVID-related executive orders and CDC moratorium excused compliance with the statutory rent-deposit requirement under section 83.60(2).
- Trial court agreed with tenant's COVID-based argument and refused to enter default judgment of possession while tenant's motion to dismiss remained pending.
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Why it matters
This decision gives landlord's counsel strong authority that section 83.60(2)'s rent-into-registry requirement is mandatory and that trial courts may not defer or excuse it based on pending defenses, counterclaims, or… — full analysis with a trial
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