Florida security deposit return

Upon the vacating of the premises for termination of the rental agreement, if the landlord does not intend to impose a claim on the security deposit, the landlord must return the security deposit, together with interest if otherwise required, within 15 days after the termination of the rental agreement.

This is the no-claim branch. The instant the landlord intends to keep any part of the deposit, this 15-day return is replaced by the 30-day claim-notice clock (see claimNotice). The clock starts at termination of the rental agreement, which is not necessarily the physical move-out date.

If the landlord intends to impose a claim on the deposit, the landlord must, within 30 days after the termination of the rental agreement, provide the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address or by e-mail in accordance with s. 83.505 of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim. The written notice must contain a statement in substantially the following form:

"Substantially the following form" allows minor wording changes but the notice must convey the same content, including the 15-day objection window and where the objection is sent. Certified mail and § 83.505 e-mail are the only two lawful channels for this notice. Missing the 30-day deadline forfeits the claim (see claimForfeiture).

Unless the tenant objects to the imposition of the landlord’s claim or the amount thereof within 15 days after receipt of the landlord’s notice of intention to impose a claim, the landlord may then deduct the amount of his or her claim and shall remit the balance of the deposit to the tenant within 30 days after the date of the notice of intention to impose a claim for damages.

The remittance clock runs from the notice date, while the tenant’s objection window runs from receipt (see tenantObjectionWindow), so the two are deliberately offset. The tenant’s failure to object does not waive the tenant’s right to sue for the money separately.

Unless the tenant objects to the imposition of the landlord’s claim or the amount thereof within 15 days after receipt of the landlord’s notice of intention to impose a claim, the landlord may then deduct the amount of his or her claim

The prescribed claim-notice form itself tells the tenant about this 15-day window and where to send the objection. Failure to make a timely objection does not waive the tenant’s right to seek damages in a separate action.

Section 83.49 lets the landlord "impose a claim on the deposit" and state "the reason for imposing the claim," but it does not enumerate categories. Our reading is corroborated by the parallel fee-in-lieu enumeration in § 83.491 ("unpaid rent, fees, or other obligations under the rental agreement, including, but not limited to, costs required for repairing damage to the premises beyond normal wear and tear"). Florida does not define "normal wear and tear" by statute; whether particular wear is ordinary is a fact question.

the landlord must, within 30 days after the termination of the rental agreement, provide the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address or by e-mail in accordance with s. 83.505 of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim.

Florida’s "itemization" is the reason line inside the prescribed claim-notice form (see claimNotice). It is the notice itself, not a separate accounting, that the statute polices.

In those cases in which interest is required to be paid to the tenant, the landlord must pay directly to the tenant, or credit against the current month’s rent, the interest due to the tenant at least once annually. However, a landlord is not required to pay interest to a tenant who wrongfully terminates his or her tenancy before the end of the rental term.

The holding method decides interest (see holdingMethods). When owed, interest is paid or credited at least annually, and none is owed to a tenant who wrongfully terminates early. Because interest depends on facts the tenant may not know, the tool asks rather than assuming.

Hold the total amount of such money in a separate interest-bearing account in a Florida financial institution for the benefit of the tenant or tenants, in which case the tenant shall receive and collect interest in an amount of at least 75 percent of the annualized average interest rate payable on such account or interest at the rate of 5 percent per year, simple interest, whichever the landlord elects.

The chosen method decides whether interest is owed: methods (b) and (c) owe interest, method (a) owes none. The tool asks which method applies rather than assuming, because guessing the method would produce wrong money.

The landlord shall, in the lease agreement or within 30 days after receipt of advance rent or a security deposit, give written notice to the tenant which includes disclosure of the advance rent or security deposit.

If the landlord later changes where or how the deposit is held, a fresh 30-day notice is required (a depository merger, rename, or ownership change alone does not trigger it). Failure to give this disclosure is not a defense to paying rent. This is a move-in obligation; it does not affect the return clock for the many small landlords who are exempt.

any tenant who vacates or abandons the premises before the expiration of the term specified in the rental agreement, or any tenant who vacates or abandons premises which are the subject of a tenancy from week to week, month to month, quarter to quarter, or year to year, must give at least 7 days’ written notice by certified mail or personal delivery to the landlord before vacating or abandoning the premises, which notice must include the address where the tenant may be reached. Failure to give such notice relieves the landlord of the notice requirement of paragraph (3)(a) but does not waive any right the tenant may have to the security deposit or any part of it.

This is a central Florida trap. A tenant who skips the 7-day notice can release the landlord from the duty to send a claim notice, yet a landlord who keeps money still needs a lawful basis for it. The tool surfaces this interaction rather than hiding it.

A notice sent electronically pursuant to this section is deemed delivered at the time it is sent, unless the e-mail is returned to the sender as undeliverable.

New in the 2025 rewrite. "Deemed delivered when sent" matters for the deposit clocks: an e-mailed claim notice counts as given on the send date, provided it does not bounce and the parties actually signed the addendum.

Upon the sale or transfer of title of the rental property from one owner to another, or upon a change in the designated rental agent, any and all security deposits or advance rents being held for the benefit of the tenants shall be transferred to the new owner or agent, together with any earned interest and with an accurate accounting showing the amounts to be credited to each tenant account. Upon the transfer of such funds and records to the new owner or agent, and upon transmittal of a written receipt therefor, the transferor is free from the obligation imposed in subsection (1) to hold such moneys on behalf of the tenant. There is a rebuttable presumption that any new owner or agent received the security deposit from the previous owner or agent; however, this presumption is limited to 1 month’s rent.

For a tenant chasing a deposit after a sale, this points at the current owner. The one-month-rent presumption caps how much a tenant can assume actually changed hands.

“Deposit money” means any money held by the landlord on behalf of the tenant, including, but not limited to, damage deposits, security deposits, advance rent deposit, pet deposit, or any contractual deposit agreed to between landlord and tenant either in writing or orally.

A refundable pet deposit is a security deposit governed by § 83.49. A non-refundable pet fee is not, the same way a fee-in-lieu is not (see feeInLieu).

the landlord must notify the tenant within 30 days after the conclusion of the tenancy if there are any costs or fees due resulting from unpaid rent, fees, or other obligations under the rental agreement, including, but not limited to, costs required for repairing damage to the premises beyond normal wear and tear.

Section 83.491 applies to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2023. Because a fee-in-lieu is not a refundable deposit, none of the deposit-return machinery here applies to it; the tool’s intake screens these out.

Section 83.49 contains no maximum-deposit provision. A verified absence, not an omission. Non-refundable fee-in-lieu-of-deposit arrangements are governed separately by § 83.491 and are not covered by this tool.

Failure to give such notice relieves the landlord of the notice requirement of paragraph (3)(a) but does not waive any right the tenant may have to the security deposit or any part of it.

A tenant never forfeits the deposit merely for failing to give an address. What a missing pre-move-out 7-day notice costs the tenant is the landlord’s obligation to send a 30-day claim notice, not the deposit itself (see sevenDayNotice).