Security deposit return deadline in Florida
A Florida landlord has 15 days to return a security deposit in full, or 30 days to send written notice of any deductions.
- Deadline
- 15 days (30 to give notice of deductions)
- What the landlord must send
- To keep any of it, the landlord must send written notice of the claim within 30 days by certified mail (or e-mail under s. 83.505), using the statutory wording; the tenant then has 15 days to object in writing.
- If the landlord gets it wrong
- If the landlord misses the 30-day notice, the landlord forfeits the right to impose a claim on the deposit, though it can still sue for damages after returning it.
- Interest
- Interest is owed only where the deposit is held in an interest-bearing account under the options in the statute.
If the tenant does not object within 15 days, the landlord may deduct and must return the balance within 30 days of the notice. The prevailing party in a deposit lawsuit recovers court costs and attorney fees.
The law
Fla. Stat. § 83.49. Read the statute.
Checked against the statute in October 2026. Laws change, so confirm the current rule before you rely on it.
What to do next
If the deadline has passed, or the landlord kept money without a proper list, put your request in writing. Ask for the deposit back by a specific date, and keep a copy. The free first letter in the Deposit Demand Letters kit does this for Florida, and the deadline calculator works out your exact date from your move-out day.
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Deposit Demand Letters is a self-help template kit from Kits For That.