Florida requires landlords to return the security deposit within 15 days or 30 days. This page lists the deadline, the statutory penalty multiplier, the deductions a landlord may lawfully make, and the official statute text — every figure below links to the primary source.
Free. No account, no upload. Figures shown with statute citations.
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) ↗The figures below are what a statute authorises. Whether you can actually collect them depends on the facts — a multiplier that requires a court finding is not automatic.
no statutory multiplier under Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(c).
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) ↗attorney's fees automatically.
The prevailing party may recover attorney fees.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(c) ↗The landlord must state the intent to deduct, the amount, the reasons, and the address for written objection. Missing any one makes the notice defective. If the landlord misses the deadline, all deduction rights are forfeited.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3) ↗Florida requires every deduction notice to contain an all-caps warning. Most landlords never write it. Its absence is a procedural defect you can use to argue the notice is invalid — a very cheap check with a surprisingly strong payoff.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b) ↗Many tenants assume that blowing the 15-day objection window ends the matter. It does not — the statute expressly preserves a later suit for a refund; only the burden of proof shifts. This correction directly affects whether the user acts at all.
Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b) ↗““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)
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.
Public sources conflict on the points below. We state the disagreement rather than hiding it.
15 days vs 30 days
“Return within 30 days” — Some generic checklists
“Return within 15 days” — Other sources
“15 days for full return / 30 days to send itemization (two tracks)” — Statute text § 83.49(3)
This tool uses 15 days for full return / 30 days to send itemization (two-track system). The statute distinguishes two situations: no deductions claimed means full return within 15 days; deductions claimed means the notice must be sent within 30 days. The conflicting sources fail to distinguish these two paths.
Whether email can be used for service
“Certified mail is mandatory” — Earlier sources
“An email option was added” — Language tied to 2025 amendments
This tool uses Certified mail with return receipt requested is the statutory requirement. The statutory text expressly requires certified mail with a return receipt. Even if an email option exists, it generally applies only where the landlord’s original notice was also sent by email and both parties had an established electronic-service agreement. Our copy flags the certified-mail standard and recommends the user confirm their case with an attorney.
15 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.
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.
The statute does not permit deductions for: normal wear and tear; deductions the landlord failed to itemize; deductions supported only by a notice not served by certified mail.