How must a Florida landlord hold a security deposit?

Florida gives a landlord exactly three lawful ways to hold a tenant’s security deposit or advance rent, and Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1) lists all three: a separate non-interest-bearing account at a Florida financial institution; a separate interest-bearing account at such an institution, in which case the tenant receives either at least 75 percent of the annualized average interest rate payable on the account or 5 percent per year simple interest, whichever the landlord elects; or a surety bond with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the unit sits, in the total amount held or $50,000, whichever is less, plus 5 percent simple interest to the tenant.

Whichever route you pick, § 83.49(1) forbids commingling deposit money with your own funds and forbids hypothecating, pledging, or otherwise using it until it is actually due to you, and § 83.49(9) requires interest, where owed, to be paid or credited at least once annually. Note what § 83.49 does not say: read end to end, it sets no dollar ceiling on the deposit itself. Florida caps the bond, not the deposit. Under § 83.49(6) a renewal counts as a new rental agreement and a carried-forward deposit as a new deposit. Section 83.491 adds a path that is not a deposit at all — a fee in lieu of one — which § 83.491(6) expressly excludes from the definition in § 83.43(13).

How long does a Florida landlord have to claim against a security deposit?

A Florida landlord has 30 days to send written notice of intent to impose a claim, and 15 days to return the deposit outright where no claim is made — and both clocks run from termination of the rental agreement, not from the day the tenant hands back the keys. That distinction in Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a) decides real cases: a tenant who moves out three weeks early has not started your clock.

Obligation	Deadline	Florida statute
Disclose in writing where the deposit or advance rent is held	In the lease, or within 30 days after receiving the money	§ 83.49(2)
Return the deposit in full when no claim is intended	Within 15 days after termination of the rental agreement	§ 83.49(3)(a)
Send written notice of intent to impose a claim, with the reason	Within 30 days after termination of the rental agreement	§ 83.49(3)(a)
Tenant’s window to object to the claim in writing	15 days after receiving the landlord’s notice	§ 83.49(3)(b)
Remit the balance after deducting an unopposed claim	Within 30 days after the date of the notice of intent	§ 83.49(3)(b)
Tenant’s notice before vacating early, giving a forwarding address	At least 7 days before vacating or abandoning	§ 83.49(5)
Pay or credit deposit interest where it is owed	At least once annually	§ 83.49(9)

The notice is not free-form. Section 83.49(3)(a) prescribes text in substantially the statutory form, naming the amount, the reason, the citation to § 83.49(3), the tenant’s 15-day objection window, and the address for the objection, delivered by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address or by e-mail under § 83.505.

What happens if the 30-day notice is late?

Missing the window does not extinguish the debt, but it destroys the shortcut. Section 83.49(3)(a) says a landlord who fails to give the required written notice within the 30-day period forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit and may not seek a setoff against the deposit, but may file an action for damages after returning the security deposit to the tenant. The deposit goes back first; the claim survives as an ordinary lawsuit you must prove, and § 83.49(3)(c) awards the prevailing party court costs plus a reasonable attorney fee. One relief valve exists: under § 83.49(5) a tenant vacating early must give at least 7 days’ written notice with a contact address, and failing to do so relieves you of the § 83.49(3)(a) requirement. Section 83.56(6) ties the halves together — on termination, the landlord shall comply with § 83.49(3).

Which disclosures does Florida law actually require a landlord to give?

Florida imposes five written disclosure duties on a residential landlord, and only one lives in the deposit statute. Three are triggered at or before the start of the tenancy and cannot be cured later.

• Deposit-holding disclosure — Fla. Stat. § 83.49(2). In the lease or within 30 days of receiving advance rent or a deposit, state in writing the name and address of the depository or that a surety bond has been posted, whether the tenant is entitled to interest, and the statutory paragraph in § 83.49(2)(d). A later change of depository restarts the 30-day clock.
• Landlord’s name and address — Fla. Stat. § 83.50. At or before commencement of the tenancy, disclose in writing the name and address of the landlord or of a person authorized to receive notices and demands. That is the address a tenant serves a habitability notice on under § 83.60(1)(b).
• Radon gas — Fla. Stat. § 404.056(5). Notification must appear on at least one document, form, or application executed at or before execution of the rental agreement, in the exact language the subsection prescribes. Transient occupancy of 45 days or less is exempt.
• Flood risk — Fla. Stat. § 83.512. For a term of one year or longer, provide a flood disclosure at or before execution, in a separate document, in substantially the statutory form. Under § 83.512(2) a tenant suffering substantial loss to personal property from flooding after a violation may terminate the agreement.
• Lead-based paint — 42 U.S.C. § 4852d. Federal, not Florida, governing target housing built before 1978. Before the lessee is obligated, supply the EPA lead hazard pamphlet, disclose any known lead-based paint or hazards, and provide any available evaluation report. The 10-day inspection opportunity in § 4852d(a)(1)(C) is written for purchasers only, so it does not attach to a lease.

Is there a small-landlord exemption?

Yes, and it reaches exactly one of the five. Section 83.49(2) states that the subsection does not apply to any landlord who rents fewer than five individual dwelling units. An owner of one duplex is excused from the deposit-holding notice — but not from the segregated-account rule in § 83.49(1), not from the deadlines in § 83.49(3), and not from § 83.50, § 404.056(5), § 83.512, or the federal lead rule. Reading it as a general exemption from the deposit statute is the most expensive misreading of Chapter 83 we see. Note too that § 83.505(1) makes e-mail service conditional on a signed addendum in which both parties specifically agree to it and supply valid addresses.

How much notice does a Florida landlord have to give?

Florida sets four different notice periods, and using the wrong one is the most common reason an eviction is dismissed. For nonpayment, Fla. Stat. § 83.56(3) requires a written demand for the rent or possession where the default continues for three days excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays — and § 83.43(10) defines a legal holiday as one observed by the clerk of the court.

For a lease violation, § 83.56(2) splits the remedy. Where the noncompliance is curable — unauthorized pets, guests, or vehicles, improper parking, failing to keep the unit clean and sanitary — § 83.56(2)(b) requires a 7-day notice to cure, and if the same conduct recurs within 12 months an eviction may proceed without a further notice. Where the tenant should not be given a chance to cure, such as intentional destruction or a continued unreasonable disturbance, § 83.56(2)(a) allows a 7-day unconditional notice. Section 83.56(4) permits delivery by mail, by delivering a true copy, by e-mail under § 83.505, or by leaving a copy at the residence if the tenant is absent, and those requirements may not be waived in the lease.

Is 15 days enough to end a Florida month-to-month tenancy?

No. Ending a Florida month-to-month tenancy takes at least 30 days’ written notice before the end of a monthly period, under Fla. Stat. § 83.57(3). Fifteen days was the rule once and stale pages still publish it; ch. 2023-314, Laws of Florida, amended § 83.57 and the current text reads 30. The same section sets 60 days for year-to-year, 30 for quarter-to-quarter, and 7 for week-to-week. Fixed-term leases run separately: Fla. Stat. § 83.575(1) lets a lease require end-of-term notice from the tenant only if the landlord owes matching notice of non-renewal, and may not demand less than 30 or more than 60 days from either side. For routine entry, § 83.53(2) sets reasonable notice for repairs at 24 hours, between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Does Florida require a move-out inspection?

No. Florida law requires no pre-move-out inspection and gives a tenant no statutory right to be present at one. Part II of Chapter 83 runs from § 83.40 to § 83.684, and no section in it creates an inspection duty, an inspection notice, or a tenant right of attendance; § 83.49 is silent on the point across all nine subsections. Compare California, where Civ. Code § 1950.5 obliges a landlord to notify the tenant of the right to an initial inspection and to itemize the deficiencies found. Florida has no analogue, and no California rule is imported.

That is a legal answer, not a gap in the research, and it changes how you work: with no statutory inspection to lean on, your evidence of condition must come from documents you create voluntarily — a dated move-in checklist signed by the tenant, a matching move-out checklist, and photographs — because the § 83.49(3)(a) notice must state the reason for the claim and you may have to prove it.

Which Florida landlord forms are legally required, and which are just good practice?

The five disclosures above are compelled at the front of a Florida tenancy; three further documents become mandatory later. The § 83.49(3)(a) notice of intent is required if you mean to keep any part of the deposit. Each of the three notices in § 83.56 is required before the corresponding eviction, with prescribed wording. And § 83.491(4) requires a signed written agreement carrying the statutory disclosure if you use the fee-in-lieu option.

Everything else is evidence you choose to create. Even a written lease is technically optional, since § 83.46(2) supplies a tenancy duration from the rent payment period where the agreement is silent — but § 83.51(1) only lets the maintenance obligation be altered for a single-family home or duplex in writing. Checklists, rent receipts, and a rental application are evidentiary rather than mandatory.

Whatever you draft, § 83.47 sets the outer limit: a lease provision is void and unenforceable to the extent it purports to waive or preclude the rights, remedies, or requirements of Part II, or to limit either party’s liability arising under law.