Florida security deposit law

Florida does not cap the amount of a security deposit or advance rent. Deposit money covers any money the landlord holds for the tenant, including damage, security, pet and advance rent deposits.

Fla. Stat. § 83.49 Fla. Stat. § 83.43(4)

• A landlord may offer a fee in lieu of a security deposit, but does not have to. If you offer it, you must offer it to every new tenant on the same premises and may not use the tenant's choice when deciding the application. Fla. Stat. § 83.491(1), (7)
• The fee option needs a written agreement signed by both sides, the written notices listed in the statute and the statutory disclosure in capital letters. The fee may not go up during the rental agreement, and the tenant may switch to paying the deposit at any time. Fla. Stat. § 83.491(3), (4)
• A renewal counts as a new rental agreement, and a deposit carried forward counts as a new deposit. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(6)
• The absence of a numerical cap does not approve every proposed charge. Section 83.44 requires good faith in performing or enforcing the agreement; section 83.45 permits a court to refuse, limit or sever an unconscionable provision. Review the actual terms and housing protections before collection. Fla. Stat. § 83.44 Fla. Stat. § 83.45
• Separate ordinary pet charges from assistance-animal protections. For covered service-animal housing, section 413.08(6) bars extra compensation for the animal while preserving liability for actual damage. Emotional support animals have a separate reasonable-accommodation provision in section 760.27, including the no-extra-compensation rule and its stated conditions. Review the applicable accommodation requirements before proposing a pet deposit; this guide does not decide a resident's request. Fla. Stat. § 413.08 Fla. Stat. § 760.27

If you make no claim on the deposit, return it, with any interest owed, within 15 days after the rental agreement ends. If you intend to keep any part, send written notice of the claim and the reason within 30 days after the rental agreement ends, by certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address (or by e-mail under a signed e-mail addendum).

Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)

• The claim notice must be in substantially the form the statute gives, stating the amount, the reason and the address for objections. A landlord who misses the 30-day window forfeits the right to claim against the deposit, but may sue for damages after returning it. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a)
• The tenant has 15 days after receiving the notice to object in writing. If no objection arrives, deduct the claim and send the balance within 30 days after the date of the notice. Not objecting does not stop the tenant from suing later. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b)
• Unless the written lease says otherwise, a tenant who leaves before the lease term ends, or who leaves a week-to-week, month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter or year-to-year tenancy, must give at least 7 days' written notice by certified mail or personal delivery, with an address where the tenant can be reached. If that tenant does not, you are relieved of the claim notice duty in (3)(a), though the tenant keeps any right to the deposit. A fixed-term tenant who moves out when the term ends owes no such notice, so still send the claim notice on time. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(5)
• In a court fight over the deposit, the winner gets court costs and a reasonable attorney fee. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(c)
• When the property is sold or the rental agent changes, deposits and advance rent, with earned interest and an accounting, pass to the new owner or agent. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(7)
• Email delivery needs the voluntary signed rental-agreement addendum required by section 83.505, valid designated email addresses, and the required advice about revocation and address updates. Check the current election and address before sending. A qualifying email is deemed delivered when sent unless returned as undeliverable; preserve the notice and transmission evidence. An ordinary portal message or a signed lease alone does not establish these conditions. Fla. Stat. § 83.49 Fla. Stat. § 83.505
• Compare dated move-in and move-out records, resident comments and the actual work or unpaid amount before asserting a claim. Itemize the reason and amount and retain photos, invoices, ledger entries and any contrary evidence. A contractor's total, routine repainting, an improvement or a general damage label does not establish what the tenant owes. Check the lease and applicable remedy before claiming future rent after departure; a notice or software entry does not determine liability. Fla. Stat. § 83.49 Fla. Stat. § 83.44
• Check subsection (4) before applying this section to transient hotel or motel rentals, regulated rent or deposit arrangements and public housing. Its public-housing carveout retains subsections (3), (5) and (6). A general residential summary does not resolve every program's deposit rules. Fla. Stat. § 83.49

You must do one of three things with deposit money and advance rent (other than rent for the next period): hold it in a separate non-interest-bearing account in a Florida financial institution, hold it in a separate interest-bearing account there and pay the tenant interest, or post a surety bond and pay 5 percent simple interest. For either separate-account option, do not commingle, pledge or use the money until it is actually due to you.

Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1)

• In an interest-bearing account the tenant gets at least 75 percent of the annualized average interest rate on the account, or 5 percent per year simple interest, whichever you elect. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1)(b)
• The surety bond is posted with the clerk of the circuit court for the county, in the total of deposits held or $50,000, whichever is less. A landlord renting in five or more counties may instead post one bond with the Secretary of State, up to $250,000. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1)(c)
• If you rent five or more units, give written notice in the lease or within 30 days after receiving the money, naming the depository and its address (or stating that a bond is posted), saying whether the tenant gets interest, and including the statutory disclosure. Give new notice within 30 days if you change how or where the money is held. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(2)
• Where interest is owed, pay it to the tenant or credit it against rent at least once a year. No interest is owed to a tenant who wrongfully ends the tenancy early. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(9)
• The fewer-than-five-unit exception applies to subsection (2)'s disclosure notice; it does not remove the separate duties to hold and return deposits. A depository merger, name change or ownership transfer alone does not require a new notice. Distinguish the initial depository disclosure from the later notice of a proposed deposit claim; the latter has its own timing, form and delivery rules. Fla. Stat. § 83.49

Part II does not require a move-in inspection or condition report. A written record still helps, because any claim on the deposit must be backed by a timely claim notice.

Fla. Stat. ch. 83, part II

• Deductions depend on the written claim notice and the tenant's chance to object. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3) See Deposit return on the Florida page