Florida Security Deposit Laws for Landlords

Florida sets no limit on how much you can charge as a security deposit, but Fla. Stat. section 83.49 controls how you hold it and how you return it. When the rental agreement ends, you must either refund the deposit within 15 days or, within 30 days, send the tenant a written notice of your claim by certified mail (or by email to the tenant's current designated address if their consent to email notices remains in effect) using the statute's wording. If you miss the 30-day notice, you forfeit the right to deduct anything from the deposit, though you can still sue the tenant for damages after you refund it.

Which holding method should you use?

The rules cover all "deposit money": security deposits, pet deposits, damage deposits, and advance rent beyond the next rental period. You must pick one of three methods:

With either account, you cannot mix deposits with your own funds or pledge or use the money until it is actually due to you. The non-interest-bearing account is the only method that requires neither interest payments nor a bond. A landlord renting units in five or more counties may file one bond with the Secretary of State instead, for the total held or $250,000, whichever is less.

When interest is owed, pay it to the tenant or credit it against the current month's rent at least once a year. You do not owe interest to a tenant who wrongfully ends the tenancy before the term is over. Advance rent may move to your own account when the rental period it covers begins, without notice.

These rules do not apply to transient hotel or motel rentals, or to housing where a public body regulates the rent or deposit, such as public housing or Section 8 programs.

What must the 30-day disclosure say?

In the lease, or in writing within 30 days after you receive the deposit, give the tenant a notice that:

1. Is delivered in person, by mail, or by email under Fla. Stat. section 83.505.
2. States the name and address of the depository holding the money, or states that you posted a surety bond.
3. States whether the tenant is entitled to interest.
4. Includes the disclosure printed in section 83.49(2)(d), word for word. It begins "YOUR RENTAL AGREEMENT REQUIRES PAYMENT OF CERTAIN DEPOSITS" and explains the 30-day claim notice and the tenant's 15-day objection.

If you later change how or where you hold the deposit, notify the tenant within 30 days. No new notice is required solely because the bank merges, changes its name, or transfers its ownership to another financial institution. This disclosure requirement does not apply if you rent fewer than five individual dwelling units, though the holding rules and the move-out procedure still do. A tenant cannot use a missing notice as a reason to withhold rent.

Email delivery works only if you and the tenant signed an addendum agreeing to email notices, in the form set out in section 83.505, and each gave an email address. Either party may revoke consent or update their designated email address by written notice, effective when delivered to the other party. An email notice counts as delivered when sent unless it bounces, and you must keep a copy and proof that it was sent. The 2025 law that added email delivery (HB 615) took effect July 1, 2025. Our guide to Florida lease agreement requirements covers the other disclosures a lease needs.

How do you refund the deposit or make a claim?

The clocks start when the rental agreement ends and the tenant vacates.

1. No claim: return the full deposit, plus any interest owed, within 15 days.
2. Claim: within 30 days, send written notice by certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address, or by email to the tenant's current designated address if their consent under the signed 83.505 addendum remains in effect. State the amount and the reason, using a statement in substantially this form:

"This is a notice of my intention to impose a claim for damages in the amount of ___ upon your security deposit, due to ___. It is sent to you as required by s. 83.49(3), Florida Statutes. You are hereby notified that you must object in writing to this deduction from your security deposit within 15 days after the time you receive this notice or I will be authorized to deduct my claim from your security deposit. Your objection must be sent to ___ (landlord's address)."

3. Wait 15 days after the tenant receives it. If the tenant does not object in writing, deduct your claim and send the balance within 30 days after the date of your notice.
4. If the tenant objects, the statute sets no further steps. You can negotiate, or either side can sue. The court must hear the case promptly, and the winner recovers court costs plus a reasonable attorney's fee, so compare the disputed amount with that risk before you hold firm.

Example: a lease ends June 30 and the tenant moves out that day. You must refund by July 15 or mail the claim notice by July 30. If you mail it July 10 and the tenant receives it July 14, the objection window closes July 29, and if no objection arrives you must send the balance by August 9.

A tenant who misses the objection deadline can still sue you later for a refund. Unless the written lease says otherwise, a tenant who leaves before the term ends, or ends a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy, must give you at least 7 days' written notice by certified mail or hand delivery, with an address where they can be reached. If the tenant skips that notice, you are relieved of the 30-day claim notice requirement, but the tenant keeps any right to the deposit.

Damage claims are easier to prove with a dated move-in record; see whether a move-in inspection is required.

What does forfeiting your claim bar, and what does it not?

If you send no notice within 30 days, send it by regular mail, or email it without a signed email addendum, you lose the right to impose any claim on the deposit and cannot offset damage against it. You must return the full deposit.

Forfeiture does not erase what the tenant owes. After you return the deposit, you can file a lawsuit for unpaid rent or damage. Our article on what to do when a tenant damages your property covers that route, and the Florida eviction process covers unpaid rent while the tenant is still in the unit.

A lease renewal counts as a new rental agreement, and a deposit carried forward counts as a new deposit, so treat each renewal as a new start for these rules.

What happens to deposits when you sell?

At closing, transfer every deposit and advance rent, with earned interest and an accounting for each tenant, to the buyer or new agent. Once you transfer the funds and records and receive a written receipt, you no longer have to hold the money. The law presumes the new owner received each deposit, but that presumption is limited to one month's rent, and the buyer can rebut it. If you are the buyer, get the accounting in writing before closing; see buying a rental that already has tenants.

How does a fee in lieu of a deposit work?

For rental agreements signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2023, section 83.491 lets you offer a fee instead of a deposit. Offering it is your choice, but if you offer it:

• You cannot use an applicant's choice of fee or deposit to approve or deny the application, and you must offer the option to all new tenants at the same property unless you end it for all new leases.
• Tell the tenant in writing that they may pay the deposit instead, or switch to the deposit at any time; that installments may be available; any extra charges; the payment amounts for each option; whether the fee is nonrefundable; that the fee only secures occupancy and does not reduce what they owe for rent or damage; and that any insurance you buy with the fee does not cover them.
• Sign a written agreement with the tenant that fixes the fee for the lease term, explains how it is collected and what happens if the tenant stops paying it, lets the tenant end it by paying the deposit, and includes the capitalized disclosure in the statute. It must state that paying the deposit specified in the lease within the agreement's deadline prevents harm to the tenant's credit rating from fee nonpayment. It must also state that paying that deposit prevents adverse credit reporting from fee nonpayment or ending the fee agreement.
• The fee can be monthly, due with rent, or on another agreed schedule. It is not a security deposit, so the account and claim-notice rules above do not apply to it.

At move-out, notify the tenant within 30 days after the tenancy ends of any amounts due. Wait at least 15 days after that notice before filing an insurance claim, and include an itemized list with due dates, supporting documentation, and any tenant objection. You cannot collect the same amount from both the tenant and the insurer, and an insurer that pays you and holds subrogation rights has 1 year after the tenancy ends to seek reimbursement from the tenant, who keeps the same defenses they would have against you.