Franklin County, Florida Eviction Risk: Low

Franklin County sits along Florida's Forgotten Coast, a thin strip of Gulf-front panhandle territory with a permanent population of about 9,165 spread across four communities. The county earns a 2.5/10 Low eviction risk score on the Eviction Risk Map, placing it 15th among Florida eviction laws's 67 counties - meaning only 14 counties statewide carry higher risk for landlords. That puts Franklin in the higher-risk third of Florida eviction laws, which matters because the state's eviction law is otherwise among the more landlord-favorable frameworks in the Southeast.

The economic picture is modest. Average rent runs $983/month, and renters here spend an average of 32.9% of income on housing - a rent burden level that edges past the conventional affordability threshold of 30%. With a poverty rate of 15.5% and only 21.9% of households renting (a low renter share relative to most Florida eviction laws metros), the rental market is small but financially stressed. Eastpoint, the county's largest community at 3,163 residents, scores the highest within the county at 2.7/10. Carrabelle (pop. 2,438) and Apalachicola (pop. 2,431) both score 2.4/10, while St. George Island - primarily a vacation-rental market at 1,133 permanent residents - scores the lowest at 2.1/10. The narrow score range (2.1 to 2.7) across all four cities reflects a county where conditions are fairly uniform rather than concentrated in one troubled pocket.

Florida eviction laws's landlord-tenant framework is governed by Fla. Stat. § 83 Part II (Residential Tenancies). Non-payment cases require only a 3-day notice under Fla. Stat. § 83.56(3), and the state does not require just cause for non-renewal. Florida eviction laws also preempts local rent control under FL Stat §125.0103, so Franklin County municipalities cannot impose caps independent of a declared housing emergency. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 20 to 30 days; contested cases can run 45 to 110 days. Court filing fees range from $185 to $400, sheriff lockout fees from $90 to $175, and attorney fees from $750 to $3,500 depending on case complexity. One notable 2024 addition: Fla. Stat. § 82.036 (HB-621, 2024) created a zero-day notice path for squatters and unauthorized occupants with no rental agreement - a meaningful tool in a coastal county where informal occupancy situations can arise off-season.

Franklin County's Low risk score reflects a thin, financially modest rental market where the small renter population (21.9% of households) and Florida eviction laws's landlord-favorable statutes keep overall exposure manageable, though a 32.9% average rent burden and 15.5% poverty rate mean a meaningful share of tenants operate with little financial cushion.