Florida Security Deposit Return: Notice of Claim and Deductions

Two deadlines: 15 days or 30 days

Which deadline applies depends on a decision you make first: are you claiming anything?

• No claim. Return the full deposit within 15 days after the lease ends.
• A claim on part or all of it. Send written notice of the claim, with the amount and the reason, within 30 days, by certified mail or email.

Miss the 30-day notice and you lose the right to claim against the deposit. There is no late version of the notice. Make the claim-or-no-claim decision early, ideally within a few days of getting the keys back, so the 15-day route is still open if the unit turns out fine.

How the notice-of-claim process works

1. Inspect the unit and compare it with the move-in record. Decide what, if anything, you will claim.
2. Write the notice. It must state the amount and the reason, and it must follow the wording set out in the statute. Copy that wording from §83.49(3)(a) rather than paraphrasing it.
3. Send it within 30 days by certified mail or by email. Keep the mailing receipt or a copy of the sent email with its date.
4. Wait. The tenant then has 15 days to object to the claim.
5. Pay the balance, the deposit minus what you are keeping, within 30 days of the notice.

What happens after a tenant objects is set out in the statute; this page doesn’t cover the dispute stage. If an objection arrives, read the section in full or talk to a Florida attorney before keeping the money.

Florida is the one state on this site where the letter has to be worded the statute’s way. Some find that reassuring and some find it tedious; either way, copy it exactly.

Where the deposit must be held, and interest

While you hold it, the deposit must sit in a separate Florida bank account or be covered by a surety bond. A landlord with five or more units must tell the tenant in writing, within 30 days, where it is held.

Interest depends on the arrangement. For an interest-bearing account, the tenant receives at least 75% of the rate paid or 5% simple interest; with a surety bond, the tenant gets 5%. Read the statute for which option applies to you and when it is paid, then put the figure you owe in the "Interest owed" row of the sheet.

Deductions, evidence and what this page leaves out

The Florida facts behind this page cover the notice and the deadlines, not a list of allowed charges. Whether a particular deduction is permitted, and how wear and tear is treated, is outside what this page covers; read §83.49 and your lease.

In practice, claims that hold up tend to be specific and documented: a dated photo, the move-in condition, the cost. The move-in and move-out inspection checklist gives you the before-and-after record to point to.

A useful habit is a single folder per departing household: the signed lease, move-in checklist, dated photographs, contractor quotes, the notice itself and whatever proof of delivery the post office or email system produced. If a dispute reaches small claims court, a judge will want to see those papers in order, and assembling them months later from a phone gallery is miserable work.

Receipts: the facts here say nothing about attaching them to the notice. Keeping them ready is still good practice, since an objection usually turns on the evidence.

Keeping the deposit also has a tax side. The IRS treats what you keep for a broken lease as income in the year you keep it.

Using the Excel sheet and Word letter in Florida

1. On the Details tab, enter the tenant names, property and unit, the deposit held and any interest owed under your holding arrangement.
2. Florida counts from the end of the lease, so put the date the lease ended in the "Move-out date" row if it differs from the day the tenant left.
3. In the days row, type 15 if you are making no claim. Type 30 if you are. The "Return or itemize by" date then shows your notice deadline.
4. On the Deductions tab, delete the EXAMPLE row and list each item you are claiming, with the room, what changed since move-in and the photo or invoice that shows it.
5. Look again at any amber row marked as possible wear and tear before you include it.
6. Open the Word letter. Replace its opening paragraph with the notice wording from the statute, and use the itemized table to show each amount and reason. The totals table shows what you intend to return.
7. Send it by certified mail or email before day 30. Then note the date the 15-day objection period ends, and pay the balance within 30 days of the notice.