How long a landlord has to return your deposit, and what you can claim if they miss it
This page covers residential security deposits in Florida, where a landlord has kept some or all of a deposit after a tenancy ends.
It does not cover:
Lease terms and local ordinances can change what applies. Where a city has its own deposit rules, those may differ from the state statute below.
Measured from the day you vacated (counted from Day 0).
Landlord claims no deductions → full return within 15 days
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a) ↗Measured from the day you vacated.
Landlord claims deductions → notice must be sent by certified mail within 30 days
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a) ↗Measured from the day you received the deduction notice.
15 days to object in writing after receipt (no objection means the landlord may deduct)
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b) ↗No statutory penalty beyond returning the deposit.
Florida has no multiplier penalty. A landlord who fails to send the deduction notice on time forfeits all deduction rights automatically — no court finding required — and the prevailing party may recover attorney fees.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(c) ↗The tenant may recover the landlord's attorney fees.
The prevailing party may recover attorney fees.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(c) ↗The clock does not start on the day you decided to leave. In Florida it starts the day you vacated (counted from Day 0) — for most leases that is the date you hand back the keys, not the date your notice period began.
““You missed the 15-day objection window, so the deduction is final.””
The statute expressly provides that even after the window passes, you may still sue for a refund. What changes is the burden of proof — it shifts to you to sue and show the landlord had no basis, rather than the landlord justifying the deduction. This is not final.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b)
““I notified you by email.””
§ 83.49(3)(b) requires certified mail with return receipt requested. Multiple appellate courts have rejected notices that substituted ordinary email for the statutorily required service.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b)
““The notice gave an objection address and you did not object within 15 days.””
Provide proof of the date you actually received the notice. Where the service date is uncertain, the start of the 15-day window is itself the disputed issue.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b)
Every figure on this page comes from the official text, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked against the source.
| Statute | Last verified | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(c) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
Primary reference: Fla. Stat. § 83.49. Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Amendments are recorded on the site changelog.
A self-help letter is the right starting point for a single deposit you can document. Get legal help if:
Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.
Florida Security Deposit Rules
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15 or 30 days, counted from the day you vacated (counted from Day 0). Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a).
The statute cited for Florida does not provide a penalty multiplier beyond returning the deposit and any lawful deductions.
It runs from the day you vacated (counted from Day 0) — the date you vacated and returned the keys, not the date your notice period began.
No — Most Florida claims land in the $500–$4,000 range, while attorney fees typically exceed the amount in dispute — which is exactly why most tenants never claim, and why this tool exists.