Headline Surfer photo illustration / Chief Judge Lisa Davidson, who presides over the Seminole and Brevard county courts, has halted all eviction and foreclosure hearings and their enforcement until April 15, adding she could extend the eviction ban longer, if necessary.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
SANFORD, Fla. -- Today is April Fool's Day, which also is the first of the month when rents are due for those in the Sunshine State who rent an apartment, a townhome, a condo or a home.
And with so many people furloughed from their jobs through no fault of their own due to the coronavirus with businesses shut down, many of the Sunshine State's working poor may not be able to pay the rent. Even unemployment claims will take some time to process.
Headline Surfer has asked Gov. Ron DeSantis' press representatives for answers as to what the governor plans to do about the situation, but has not received a response to its inquiries now going back as far as two weeks ago.
And today, the governor ordered Floridians to Stay at Home as a means to help stop the spread of the virus. In the wake of this oder, Headline Surfer again reached out to the governor's press office, bit its inquiry went unanswered.
There are protections in place for renters from landlord evictions in four counties, however.
County leaders in Miami-Dade County have approved a measure banning evictions for the time being. In Osceola County, west of Orlando, Sheriff Russ Gibson has said his deputies will not enforce evictions of tenants for the time being. And in Brevard and Seminole Counties here in Central Florida, the chief judge of the 18th judicial circuit that encompasses both counties, issued a ruling from the bench that bars evictions from being processed in the courts until at least mid-April.
Chief Judge Lisa Davidson, who presides over the Seminole and Brevard county courts, has halted all eviction and foreclosure hearings and their enforcement until April 15, adding she could extend the eviction ban longer, if necessary.
Chief Judge Davidson's edict emanates from the Florida Supreme Court which has advised the state's clerks of court to stop issuing writs of possession, the final document in an eviction that police can use to remove a tenant - until April 17.
Chief Judge Davidson's edict emanates from the Florida Supreme Court which has advised the state's clerks of court to stop issuing writs of possession, the final document in an eviction that police can use to remove a tenant - until April 17.
As reported in the Tampa Bay Times, the Florida Supreme Court this week quietly altered the rulebook on evictions and foreclosures, potentially giving relief to Floridians wondering how they can shelter in place during the coronavirus pandemic if they’re kicked out of their homes.
The change was tucked in a 10-page administrative order issued this week to address court operations during the pandemic and affects only the final step of the eviction and foreclosure legal process or what is known as the writ of possession.
The order, issued by Chief Justice Charles Canady, appears to suspend, or at least give clerks the option to suspend, issuing writs of possession through April 17, the Times said.