More than 40 Miami Beach families given 2 weeks to move out or face eviction

MIAMI - Dozens of South Florida families are being told to move out of their Miami Beach apartments or face eviction.

"We were notified through a letter, it was posted at our doors," said Barbara Lavie. She is one of the 42 families paying low rent at the Riviera Apartments at 337 20th St. in Miami Beach. These families must be out of their units by August.

"We just don't know where to go, we have called places, but the rent is extremely high," said Zeneida Guzman, who has lived at the Riviera for 10 years.

All tenants received a letter from the law firm Roth and Scholl, dated July 2, on behalf of the landlord of the building, which they never mentioned by name.

One of the letter's paragraphs read: "… because the landlord values your tenancy, even though your lease only requires a 30-day notice for terminating your month-to-month tenancy, the landlord has decided to give you a full two months."

And continued: "Accordingly, your lease is hereby terminated effective August 31, 2024… Should you fail to vacate the premises by this date, the landlord reserves the right to file an eviction lawsuit and obtain a final judgment of eviction to remove you from the premises…"

Milagros Santos is concerned. She has lived at the building for 23 years in a one-bedroom unit, paying low rent. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and she said she feels they were not given a reason why they have less than 60 days to vacate.

"They don't say anything, everybody needs to move that's it," said Santos while holding one of the paintings she is packing.

"We see these things all the time," Fausto Rosales told CBS News. He is a real estate attorney based in Coral Gables. He said the law changed in Florida since the pandemic, when Gov. Ron DeSantis, through an executive order, established that tenants renting under a "month to month" basis only needed 30 days' notification to vacate the property and not 60, as it used to be.

"When a landlord wants to terminate a month-to-month tenancy, all they have to do is give the tenant at least 30 days' notice," Rosales said.

What options do the families who received the letter have now?

"In this situation, the tenants have all the rights to be able to speak to the landlord and try to come up to some type of resolution. Maybe, if the tenants were to approach the landlord and advise him they need a larger incentive, maybe that would give the landlord enough incentive to work with the families," Rosales added.

And that is exactly what some of these tenants are asking.

"We understand the redevelopment this area is going through, we're asking for a little compassion a little more time. The ideal time would be three to six months," Guzman said.

CBS News Miami reached out to the Law Office of Roth and Scholl, who represents the landlord of Riviera Apartments for a response to the allegations. Someone from the office said they would call back, but that has not happened as of publication.

The City of Miami Beach said the matter is private and what they did was bridged the tenants with legal services of greater Miami to receive advice about their options.

For now, the clock is ticking for more than 40 families who still do not know where to go.