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Miami-Dade Launching Online Help Tool For Tenants Facing Eviction

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Miami-Dade residents facing eviction will soon have a new tool to help resolve their dispute with their landlord.

The county is launching a courtHELP platform that will give landlords and tenants the opportunity to resolve their eviction online.

"As eviction moratoriums end, courts statewide are bracing for a sharp rise in eviction cases," said Nushin G. Sayfie, Chief Judge of the Miami-Dade Courts in a statement. "We believe that courtHELP will make it easy for landlords and tenants to start communicating and resolving their differences early on – well before the case proceeds to a full court process."

"Launching courtHELP is an important step forward in our ongoing efforts to address the housing crisis," said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in a statement. "We are committed to doing everything we can to protect struggling landlords and tenants and get relief to those in need; this is an important new tool in our toolkit to proactively prevent evictions."

When tenants receive their first notice of eviction, they can to immediately start communicating directly with their landlords online via email and text messaging.

According to the county, "the parties have the opportunity to enter into an agreement entirely online. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the platform allows the parties to send their case to a court-supplied mediator to assist them in resolving their cases via the platform."

Agreements and other documents created using courtHELP can be signed electronically by the parties before they are automatically e-filed with the courts. That way they won't have to take time off from work to attend a court hearing.

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