Summary of Florida's Foreclosure Laws

If you are facing foreclosure in Florida, it’s important to understand some of the basics, including:

the most common type of foreclosure procedure (judicial v. nonjudicial) used in Florida
how much time you have to respond
your rights and protections in the process, and
what happens afterwards (for example, whether you’ll be liable for a deficiency judgment).

Below we have outlined some of the most important features of Florida foreclosure law. Keep in mind that this is just a summary; we’ve included statute citations so you can get more details from the laws themselves. And be sure to check out Nolo’s extensive Foreclosure section, where you can find information about all aspects of foreclosure, definitions of foreclosure terms (like redemption and reinstatement), and options to avoid foreclosure.

Topic	State Rule
Common type of foreclosure process	Judicial
Time to respond	If foreclosing party asks for an order to show cause why the foreclosure should not proceed, homeowner has 21 days to respond after personal service or 31 days after the date notice is first published. Foreclosing party must publish notice of sale for two consecutive weeks at least five days before sale.
Reinstatement of loan before sale	Allowed for high-cost loans. Fla. Stat. Ann. § 494.00794
Redemption after sale	Available until the court clerk files a certificate of sale
Special protections for foreclosures involving high-cost mortgages	Protections apply to high-cost loans as defined in HOEPA (see Ch. 7). Florida Fair Lending Act, Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 494.0079, 494.00794
Special state protections for service members	Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 250.5201 to 250.5205
Deficiency judgments	Allowed if homeowner is personally served in foreclosure lawsuit. Court has flexibility regarding amount of deficiency, regardless of the type of mortgage involved. Foreclosing party may also file a separate lawsuit for breach of contract against homeowner for a deficiency, except that an original lender who ends up with the property at the foreclosure sale can’t sue homeowner on a mortgage used to buy the house.
Cash exempted in bankruptcy	$1,000 for one person, $2,000 for a married couple
Notice to leave after house is sold	Former owner has five days to respond to a civil complaint filed by new owner to gain possession of property.
Foreclosure statutes	Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 702.01, 701.10, 45.031 and 45.0315