Florida: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
A Florida landlord who isn't making a claim on your deposit must return it within 15 days after your tenancy ends. If the landlord wants to keep part of it, they instead have 30 days to send you a certified-mail notice of the claim, you get 15 days to object in writing, and the landlord then has 30 more days to remit whatever's left. Florida sets no cap on the deposit amount, but does require the landlord to hold it in a separate account (interest-bearing or not) or post a bond, and to pay interest if the account is interest-bearing or bonded. Miss the 30-day notice deadline and the landlord forfeits the right to claim anything from the deposit at all — though they can still sue you separately for damages.
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This is the general rule in Florida. Ezel applies current Florida law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Fla. Stat. § 83.49 |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | 15 days after termination if no claim is made; if the landlord intends to claim part of the deposit, a 30-day certified-mail notice of claim instead, followed by a 15-day tenant objection window and remittance of any balance within 30 days after the notice |
| Itemized statement required? | The certified-mail notice of claim must state the dollar amount and the reason; there's no separate 'itemized statement' step beyond that notice |
| What can be deducted | The statute doesn't list specific categories — the landlord states 'the reason' in the claim notice and the tenant can object; a court resolves disputes. (Florida's separate fee-in-lieu-of-deposit statute, § 83.491, expressly limits liability to damage 'beyond normal wear and tear,' but that phrase is not written into § 83.49 itself.) |
| Maximum deposit amount | None — Florida sets no statutory maximum |
| Interest on the deposit? | Only if the landlord elects to hold the deposit in an interest-bearing account or a bond: at least 75% of the account's own rate or 5% simple interest (landlord's choice), or a flat 5% simple interest if bonded. No interest is owed if held in a non-interest-bearing account. |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | Missing the 30-day claim-notice deadline forfeits the landlord's right to claim any part of the deposit (though the landlord may still sue for damages separately after returning it). In litigation over the deposit, the prevailing party recovers court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. |
| Separate account or bond required? | Yes — the landlord must choose one of three options: a separate non-interest-bearing account, a separate interest-bearing account, or a surety bond (capped at $50,000 per county, or $250,000 for a multi-county bond filed with the Secretary of State) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Florida's security deposit rules live in a single section of the Residential
Landlord and Tenant Act: Fla. Stat. § 83.49.
Deadline to return the deposit
This is a genuine fork, not one number. If the landlord isn't making a claim,
the deposit is due back within 15 days of termination. If the landlord does
intend to keep part of it, the statute instead requires "written notice by
certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address... of his or her
intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the
claim" within 30 days of termination (§ 83.49(3)(a)) — followed by the
tenant's 15-day objection window and a further 30-day remittance deadline
(§ 83.49(3)(b)) if the tenant doesn't object. Missing the 30-day notice
altogether is fatal to the landlord's claim: "If the landlord fails to give
the required written notice within the 30-day period, he or she forfeits the
right to impose a claim upon the security deposit."
Itemized statement required?
There's no separate itemized-statement step distinct from the claim notice
itself — the certified-mail notice of intent to impose a claim has to state
the dollar amount and the reason for it, and that notice is what starts the
tenant's 15-day objection clock.
What can be deducted
Unlike California or Texas, § 83.49's own text doesn't spell out a list of
permitted deductions or an explicit "normal wear and tear" exclusion — it
simply requires the landlord's notice to state "the reason" for the claim,
and lets the tenant object within 15 days. If the dispute ends up in court,
the statute awards costs and a reasonable attorney's fee to whichever side
wins (§ 83.49(3)(c)). A different, newer Florida statute for a "fee in lieu
of security deposit" arrangement (§ 83.491) does explicitly limit a tenant's
liability to damage "beyond normal wear and tear" — but that phrase is part
of that separate program's disclosure language, not the ordinary
security-deposit statute covered on this page.
Maximum deposit amount
None. Florida law places no ceiling on how much a landlord can require as a
security deposit.
Interest on the deposit?
It depends on which of three ways the landlord chose to hold the money. A
non-interest-bearing account requires no interest. An interest-bearing
account requires "at least 75 percent of the annualized average interest
rate payable on such account or interest at the rate of 5 percent per year,
simple interest, whichever the landlord elects." A surety bond requires a
flat 5% simple interest. Whichever applies, the landlord must pay it to the
tenant (or credit it against rent) at least once a year (§ 83.49(9)).
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
If the landlord misses the 30-day notice-of-claim deadline, the consequence
is forfeiture: the landlord "forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the
security deposit and may not seek a setoff against the deposit" — though the
landlord can still return the deposit and separately sue the tenant for
damages afterward. Beyond that forfeiture, § 83.49 doesn't set a
double- or treble-damages multiplier the way some other states do; instead,
whoever wins a court fight over the deposit recovers court costs and a
reasonable attorney's fee (§ 83.49(3)(c)).
Separate account or bond required?
Yes — Florida requires one of three options: a separate non-interest-bearing
account, a separate interest-bearing account, or a surety bond (capped at
$50,000 per county, or up to $250,000 if the landlord files one multi-county
bond with the Secretary of State instead). Commingling the deposit with the
landlord's own funds, or using it before it's actually due, is barred under
all three options.
What trips people up
"15 days" and "30 days" are two different tracks, not two deadlines for the
same thing. Which one applies depends entirely on whether the landlord
intends to keep any money — read your notice carefully to see which track
you're on.
Missing the notice deadline doesn't end the dispute — it flips who has to
sue whom. A landlord who misses the 30-day notice has to return the full
deposit, but can still separately sue you for the damages later. Getting your
deposit back isn't necessarily the last word.
Florida's ordinary deposit statute doesn't itself say "normal wear and
tear." That specific phrase shows up in a different, newer statute about
fee-in-lieu-of-deposit arrangements (§ 83.491) — don't assume it's written
into the core deposit-return statute the way it is in many other states.
Common questions
My landlord didn't send anything within 30 days — do I still get my full
deposit back? Yes; missing that certified-mail notice deadline forfeits
the landlord's right to make any claim against the deposit, though the
landlord could still separately sue you for damages afterward.
Am I owed interest on my deposit? Only if your landlord chose to hold it
in an interest-bearing account or a bond — check the written notice your
landlord was required to send you about how the deposit is held.
Is there a cap on how big my deposit can be? No. Florida sets no
statutory maximum; a 2025 bill that would have capped deposits at one
month's rent (SB 1562) died in committee.
Statutes and sources
- Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a) — the 15-day/30-day-notice fork and forfeiture for a missed notice.
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html (accessed 2026-07-06) - Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b)-(c) — tenant's 15-day objection window, remittance deadline, prevailing-party fees.
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html (accessed 2026-07-06) - Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1)(a)-(c) — the three holding options (non-interest account, interest account, or bond).
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html (accessed 2026-07-06) - Fla. Stat. § 83.49(9) — annual interest payment requirement.
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html (accessed 2026-07-06) - Fla. Stat. § 83.491(3)(h) — the separate fee-in-lieu statute's "beyond normal wear and tear" language, for comparison.
https://www.flhouse.gov/Statutes/2025/0083.491/ (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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