The Miami-Dade Police Department announced that it would not enforce Writs of Possession during the current state of emergency in Miami-Dade County due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
A Writ of Possession is the final document issued following an eviction judgment and is necessary to regain possession in an eviction action. Self-help is not allowed in Florida. As a result, there is functionally no eviction enforcement procedure in Miami-Dade County for the immediate future. The Miami-Dade Police Department did not differentiate between commercial and residential evictions in the announcement.
As of this writing, other counties have yet to follow-suit; however, more are likely to follow. We will continue to monitor the positions other counties are adopting. Despite an inability to serve a Writ of Possession in Miami-Dade County, Landlords may continue to prosecute evictions up to the point of the Writ of Possession. With this uncertainty, Landlords should turn to voluntary workouts with their tenants in counties where evictions are not being enforced.
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