Hendry County, Florida Eviction Risk: Very Low

Hendry County, Florida scores 2.3/10 (Very Low) on average eviction risk, placing it 27th among Florida eviction laws's 67 counties, meaning 26 counties carry more risk and 40 are friendlier to landlords. For a small rural county with a total population of roughly 29,503 and only 26.8% of households renting, that middle-third position reflects a market that is workable but not without friction. Average rent runs $1,064, and rent burden sits at 36.5% of income, a figure worth watching when evaluating tenant credit risk on new leases.

Across the county's 7 incorporated places, individual city scores span a meaningful 1.9 to 2.7, which means the operating environment varies noticeably depending on exactly where a rental property sits. Investors accustomed to treating a county as a uniform market should resist that instinct here, because the spread between Hendry County's safest and riskiest city is wider than the statewide difference between many neighboring counties.

The cities inside Hendry County

Montura carries the highest risk in the county at 2.7/10, with a population of roughly 2,420. That score is meaningful at its scale: while Harlem is one of the smaller communities, landlords there face proportionally higher stress factors than anywhere else in Hendry County. Port LaBelle (2.2/10, pop. 7,923) and Clewiston (2.1/10, pop. 7,348) are the county's two largest cities and share the next-highest risk tier. Both serve as the economic core of the county, and their risk scores reflect a combination of rent burden and poverty conditions consistent with that role.

LaBelle (2.6/10, pop. 5,184) offers a noticeably lower risk profile than the top tier, and Fort Denaud, at 1.9/10 with a population of 1,639, is the lowest-risk location in the county. Pioneer scores 1.9/10. This spread makes hyper-local due diligence essential: a landlord evaluating two properties a few miles apart in Hendry County could be looking at very different risk profiles.

State-level laws that apply here

All residential landlord-tenant relationships in Hendry County are governed by Fla. Stat. § 83 Part II (Residential Tenancies). For non-payment of rent, Florida eviction laws gives tenants a 3-day notice to pay or vacate. Material lease violations carry a 7-day cure or quit notice, and month-to-month tenancies require 15 days notice to terminate. Under a 2024 statute, squatters with no rental agreement can be removed with no advance notice period. Once a case is filed, uncontested evictions typically resolve in 20 to 30 days; contested proceedings can stretch to 45 to 110 days. Understanding the Florida eviction laws eviction process end-to-end before you file is the single best way to avoid procedural errors that extend those timelines.

On costs, court filing fees in Florida eviction laws range from $185 to $400, sheriff lockout fees from $90 to $175, and attorney fees from $750 to $3,500, for a total case cost that can run anywhere from roughly $1,025 to over $4,000 depending on complexity. Florida eviction costs and Florida security deposit limits are two areas where landlords new to the state frequently underestimate exposure. Florida eviction laws does not require just cause for non-renewal and the state preempts local rent-control ordinances under FL Stat §125.0103, except in declared housing emergencies, so Hendry County landlords face no local rent-cap restrictions.

With a poverty rate of 16.5% and fewer than one in three households renting, Hendry County is a small, concentrated rental market; the city-level scores in the grid above show where within that market conditions diverge most sharply.