Does Florida limit how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit?

No. Florida sets no statutory cap on a residential security deposit. Fla. Stat. 83.49 regulates how the deposit is held and returned, not how large it may be. An extreme deposit could still be challenged as unconscionable under Fla. Stat. 83.45, but there is no numeric limit in the statute.

How much notice must a Florida landlord give before entering for repairs?

At least 24 hours, and entry must occur between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Fla. Stat. 83.53(2) defines reasonable notice for the purpose of repair as notice given at least 24 hours prior to entry. Many Florida lease templates still print 12 hours; that is out of date.

How many days does a Florida landlord have to return a security deposit?

Fifteen days if the landlord imposes no claim, or thirty days to send a written notice of intention to impose a claim by certified mail. Under Fla. Stat. 83.49(3) the tenant then has fifteen days to object in writing. A landlord who misses the thirty-day notice forfeits the right to claim anything against the deposit.

Does a Florida lease need to be witnessed or notarized?

No. Fla. Stat. 689.01 expressly states that no subscribing witnesses are required for a lease of real property or any instrument pertaining to a lease, regardless of the length of the term. Notarization is not required either. The two-witness rule that many Florida templates still print was removed for leases by chapter 2008-35.

How much notice ends a Florida month-to-month tenancy?

Thirty days before the end of a monthly period. Fla. Stat. 83.57 sets sixty days for year-to-year, thirty days for quarter-to-quarter, thirty days for month-to-month, and seven days for week-to-week. The month-to-month period was fifteen days under older law, so older Florida templates are wrong.

What disclosures does Florida require in a residential lease?

Radon gas under Fla. Stat. 404.056(5) using the prescribed statutory wording, the landlord or agent name and address under Fla. Stat. 83.50, the security deposit disclosure under 83.49, and the flood-risk disclosure under 83.512 for terms of one year or longer. Federal law adds the lead-based paint disclosure for pre-1978 housing. Bed bug, mold, asbestos, methamphetamine, and military ordnance disclosures are not Florida requirements.

Can a Florida landlord charge any late fee?

Florida has no statute capping residential late fees and no statutory grace period, so the lease controls both. An unreasonable fee can still be attacked as unconscionable under Fla. Stat. 83.45 or as an unenforceable penalty. Templates citing Fla. Stat. 83.808 for late fees are citing the self-storage statute, which does not govern residential tenancies.

What notice comes before an eviction in Florida?

For unpaid rent, a three-day notice to pay or vacate that excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays under Fla. Stat. 83.56(3). For a curable lease violation, a seven-day notice to cure under 83.56(2)(b). For a non-curable violation such as intentional destruction, a seven-day unconditional termination notice under 83.56(2)(a).

Can a Florida tenant withhold rent for repairs?

Only after written notice and a waiting period. Fla. Stat. 83.60(1)(b) requires the tenant to deliver written notice specifying the noncompliance and stating the intention not to pay rent for that reason, and seven days must elapse. In an eviction action the tenant must generally deposit the rent into the court registry to preserve any defense other than payment.

What is the Florida flood disclosure and when is it required?

Fla. Stat. 83.512, created by chapter 2025-166, requires a landlord to give a prospective tenant a flood-risk disclosure at or before execution of any lease with a term of one year or longer. It must be a separate document, not a clause inside the lease. If the landlord omits it and the tenant suffers substantial loss to personal property from flooding, the tenant may terminate the lease on thirty days written notice.

What is a fee in lieu of a security deposit in Florida?

Fla. Stat. 83.491 lets a landlord offer a recurring fee instead of a deposit. The landlord must disclose in writing that the fee is not a security deposit and does not absolve the tenant of lease obligations, that the tenant may switch to a deposit at any time, and whether the fee is refundable. The fee may not increase during the term, and the landlord may not hold the choice against the applicant when screening.

How long can a Florida lease require notice before move-out?

Between thirty and sixty days. Fla. Stat. 83.575 allows a fixed-term lease to require end-of-term notice from either party but forbids requiring less than thirty or more than sixty days. If the tenant holds over without giving the required notice, the tenant may owe an additional one month's rent.

Who is responsible for pest control and appliances in a Florida rental?

In an apartment or other multi-unit dwelling, Fla. Stat. 83.51(2)(a) puts extermination, locks and keys, common-area safety, garbage removal, and heat, running water, and hot water on the landlord, and those duties cannot be shifted to the tenant. In a single-family home or duplex, sections 83.51(2)(b) and (c) allow the parties to agree in writing that the tenant handles extermination and garbage removal. Appliances are a contract matter unless a code requires them, so the lease should list which appliances the landlord supplies and maintains.

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Free Florida Residential Lease Agreement

Florida residential lease agreement walk-through

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A configurable Florida residential lease agreement that generates a signable multi-page PDF. Built to Fla. Stat. ch. 83, Part II as it reads today — 24-hour repair-entry notice, the 15 / 30-day deposit accounting, and the 2025 flood-risk disclosure.

Florida Fla. Stat. ch. 83 No Deposit Cap Free PDF 2026 Edition

Updated Q3 2026 By Tenant Screening Background Check Editorial Team Scope Florida ~14 min read

A Florida residential lease agreement is the written contract that sets the term, the rent, and the deposit for a dwelling unit governed by Part II of Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Florida law fills in a great deal that the lease does not say — and, more importantly, overrides anything the lease says that conflicts with it. A Florida landlord may charge any security deposit amount, because the state sets no cap, but must state how the deposit is held and must meet a two-track accounting deadline of fifteen days to refund in full or thirty days to send a certified-mail notice of intention to impose a claim. Repair entry requires twenty-four hours notice, not twelve. A month-to-month tenancy now ends on thirty days notice, not fifteen. And since 2025 a lease with a term of one year or longer requires a separate flood-risk disclosure document. The generator below builds a lease that reflects each of those rules as they read today.

Florida Lease Rules at a Glance

Security Deposit Cap

None

Deposit Accounting

15 / 30 Days

Repair-Entry Notice

24 Hours

Month-to-Month Notice

30 Days

What Florida does not regulate: there is no statutory cap on the security deposit, no cap on late fees, and no mandatory grace period for rent. Those three terms are set entirely by the lease — which is exactly why the lease has to be drafted carefully. The backstop is Fla. Stat. 83.45, which lets a court refuse to enforce a provision it finds unconscionable.

Three Rules Most Florida Lease Templates Still Get Wrong

Florida amended its landlord-tenant act more than once in recent years, and a large share of the free lease templates circulating online were written before those changes. Three errors recur constantly. First, repair entry — templates print twelve hours; Fla. Stat. 83.53(2) requires at least twenty-four hours and confines entry to the hours between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Second, month-to-month termination — templates print fifteen days; Fla. Stat. 83.57(3) requires thirty days before the end of a monthly period. Third, late fees — templates cite Fla. Stat. 83.808, which is part of the self-storage facility act and has nothing to do with residential tenancies; Florida has no residential late-fee statute at all. A lease that repeats these errors is not merely stale; a landlord who relies on a twelve-hour entry notice is entering without lawful notice.

How to Fill Out This Florida Lease Agreement

The Seven-Step Florida Sequence

1. Name the parties and the notice address

List every adult who will live in the unit as a tenant, and name the landlord or the person authorized to receive notices and demands on the landlord’s behalf, with a street address. Fla. Stat. 83.50 requires that disclosure in writing, and every statutory notice in the tenancy travels to that address.

2. Describe the premises and choose the term

Enter the full address including unit number, the county, and the property type. The property type matters legally: a single-family home or duplex allows the parties to shift maintenance duties that cannot be shifted in an apartment building. Then choose a fixed term or a month-to-month tenancy.

3. Set rent, the due day, and any late fee

Rent is payable at the beginning of each rent payment period unless the lease says otherwise, and Florida provides no statutory grace period. If you want a grace period or a late fee, the lease must create it, because the statute will not.

4. Set the deposit and state how it is held

Enter the deposit amount, then pick one of the three lawful holding methods under Fla. Stat. 83.49(1): a separate non-interest-bearing account, a separate interest-bearing account, or a surety bond. Name the depository. This is not optional boilerplate; the disclosure is a statutory duty.

5. Allocate every utility

Assign electricity, gas, water, sewer, trash, internet, and yard care to the tenant, the landlord, or both. Fla. Stat. 83.51(4) permits the lease to place garbage removal, water, fuel, and utilities on the tenant, but only if the lease actually says so.

6. Check the disclosures Florida actually requires

Radon and landlord identification are mandatory for every Florida lease. Lead-based paint is a federal requirement for pre-1978 housing. Flood risk applies to any lease of one year or longer and must be delivered as a separate document, not as a clause buried inside the lease.

7. Generate, sign, and deliver

Download the multi-page PDF and have both parties sign. Florida requires no subscribing witnesses and no notary for a lease. Give the tenant a fully signed copy, deliver the flood disclosure separately, and send the deposit-holding notice within thirty days of receiving the money.

Build Your Florida Residential Lease Agreement

Complete the fields below to generate a Florida residential lease agreement as a signable multi-page PDF. Every field you fill is written into the document, including the utility allocations and each disclosure you check. The generated lease cites the controlling Florida statute at each point, so the parties can see which terms come from the contract and which come from Chapter 83. Before handing keys to anyone, run proper tenant screening — the lease governs the relationship, but screening decides whether you want the relationship at all. Pair the signed lease with a Florida move-in / move-out checklist so the deposit accounting at the end of the tenancy rests on documented condition rather than memory.

Florida Residential Lease Agreement Builder

1. Parties

Landlord (or property manager) full legal name

Landlord phone

Landlord address for notices and demands (Fla. Stat. 83.50)

Tenant 1 full legal name

Tenant 2 full legal name (if any)

Additional tenants (comma-separated)

Authorized occupants who are not tenants (minors, etc.)

2. Premises

Rental property address (street, unit, city, ZIP)

County

Property type (drives Fla. Stat. 83.51 duties)

Year built (pre-1978 triggers federal lead disclosure)

Bedrooms / bathrooms

3. Term

Lease type

Term length in months (if other)

Lease start date

Lease end date (if fixed)

End-of-lease notice required, in days — Fla. Stat. 83.575 permits 30 to 60 only

4. Rent

Monthly rent (dollars)

Rent due day of month

Late fee, if any (Florida sets no cap)

Grace period in days (Florida provides none by statute)

Acceptable payment methods (comma-separated)

5. Security Deposit — Florida sets no cap

Total security deposit (dollars)

Additional pet deposit (dollars)

How the deposit is held — Fla. Stat. 83.49(1) allows only these three

Name and address of the depository or bond (required by Fla. Stat. 83.49(2))

Monthly fee in lieu of deposit, if offered under Fla. Stat. 83.491 (dollars)

6. Utilities & Services

Assign each utility. Every selection below is written into the generated lease.

Electricity

Gas

Water

Sewer

Trash / recycling

Internet / cable

Landscaping / yard care

Other utilities or services

7. Florida Disclosures

The first two are required in every Florida residential lease. Lead paint is federal. Flood risk is required for any term of one year or longer and must also be delivered as a separate document.

Radon gas — required, prescribed wording (Fla. Stat. 404.056(5))

Landlord identification — required (Fla. Stat. 83.50)

Security deposit disclosure — required (Fla. Stat. 83.49)

Federal lead-based paint — required for housing built before 1978

Flood risk — required for terms of one year or longer (Fla. Stat. 83.512)