Florida’s security deposit statute, section 83.49, contains a plain-language disclosure addressed to tenants, which landlords who rent five or more units must include in the written notice they give each tenant. This article uses that statutory text as its foundation, together with The Florida Bar’s consumer guidance and the security deposit claim forms that county clerks publish for tenants. Every quotation comes from an official source, and the numbered notes at the end link to each original.
The information that follows is taken directly from Florida statutes, county clerk forms, and Florida Bar publications. It is provided for educational purposes only and does not represent legal advice or the legal opinions of the author.
How the statute says a deposit must be held
Section 83.49(1) applies “Whenever money is deposited or advanced by a tenant on a rental agreement as security for performance of the rental agreement or as advance rent for other than the next immediate rental period.” It gives the landlord three choices, which are to hold the money “in a separate non-interest-bearing account in a Florida financial institution for the benefit of the tenant or tenants,” hold it in “a separate interest-bearing account in a Florida financial institution,” or to “Post a surety bond” with the clerk of the circuit court. For the first two options, the statute provides that “The landlord shall not commingle such moneys with any other funds of the landlord or hypothecate, pledge, or in any other way make use of such moneys until such moneys are actually due the landlord.”¹
Under section 83.49(2), “The landlord shall, in the lease agreement or within 30 days after receipt of advance rent or a security deposit, give written notice to the tenant which includes disclosure of the advance rent or security deposit.” The notice must “State the name and address of the depository where the advance rent or security deposit is being held or state that the landlord has posted a surety bond,” and must “State whether the tenant is entitled to interest on the deposit.” The statute adds that this notice requirement “does not apply to any landlord who rents fewer than five individual dwelling units.”¹
After move-out: the statute’s deadlines
Section 83.49(3)(a) sets two timelines. If the landlord “does not intend to impose a claim on the security deposit, the landlord must return the security deposit, together with interest if otherwise required, within 15 days after the termination of the rental agreement.” If the landlord does intend to impose a claim, “the landlord must, within 30 days after the termination of the rental agreement, provide the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address or by e-mail in accordance with s. 83.505 of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim.”¹ The statute prescribes the wording of that notice:
This is a notice of my intention to impose a claim for damages in the amount of ____ upon your security deposit, due to ____. It is sent to you as required by s. 83.49(3), Florida Statutes. You are hereby notified that you must object in writing to this deduction from your security deposit within 15 days after the time you receive this notice or I will be authorized to deduct my claim from your security deposit. Your objection must be sent to (landlord’s address).¹
The statute also states that “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 and may not seek a setoff against the deposit but may file an action for damages after returning the security deposit to the tenant.”¹
Under section 83.49(3)(b), “Unless the tenant objects to the imposition of the landlord’s claim or the amount thereof within 15 days after receipt of the landlord’s notice of intention to impose a claim, the landlord may then deduct the amount of his or her claim and shall remit the balance of the deposit to the tenant within 30 days after the date of the notice of intention to impose a claim for damages.” The same paragraph provides that “The failure of the tenant to make a timely objection does not waive any rights of the tenant to seek damages in a separate action.”¹ Section 83.49(3)(c) adds that “If either party institutes an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to adjudicate the party’s right to the security deposit, the prevailing party is entitled to receive his or her court costs plus a reasonable fee for his or her attorney.”¹
The disclosure the statute addresses to tenants
Section 83.49(2)(d) requires that the landlord’s written notice contain a disclosure, printed in capital letters and addressed to the tenant. It reads in part:
WHEN YOU MOVE OUT, YOU MUST GIVE THE LANDLORD YOUR NEW ADDRESS SO THAT THE LANDLORD CAN SEND YOU NOTICES REGARDING YOUR DEPOSIT. THE LANDLORD MUST PROVIDE YOU WRITTEN NOTICE IN PERSON, BY MAIL, OR BY E-MAIL IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 83.505, FLORIDA STATUTES, WITHIN 30 DAYS AFTER YOU MOVE OUT, OF THE LANDLORD’S INTENT TO IMPOSE A CLAIM AGAINST THE DEPOSIT. IF YOU DO NOT REPLY TO THE LANDLORD STATING YOUR OBJECTION TO THE CLAIM WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF THE LANDLORD’S WRITTEN NOTICE, THE LANDLORD WILL COLLECT THE CLAIM AND MUST MAIL YOU THE REMAINING DEPOSIT, IF ANY.
IF THE LANDLORD FAILS TO TIMELY PROVIDE YOU NOTICE, THE LANDLORD MUST RETURN THE DEPOSIT BUT MAY LATER FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST YOU FOR DAMAGES. IF YOU FAIL TO TIMELY OBJECT TO A CLAIM, THE LANDLORD MAY COLLECT FROM THE DEPOSIT, BUT YOU MAY LATER FILE A LAWSUIT CLAIMING A REFUND.
YOU SHOULD ATTEMPT TO INFORMALLY RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE BEFORE FILING A LAWSUIT. GENERALLY, THE PARTY IN WHOSE FAVOR A JUDGMENT IS RENDERED WILL BE AWARDED COSTS AND ATTORNEY FEES PAYABLE BY THE LOSING PARTY.¹
The disclosure closes with “THIS DISCLOSURE IS BASIC. PLEASE REFER TO PART II OF CHAPTER 83, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO DETERMINE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS.”¹ Separately, section 83.49(5) provides that a tenant who leaves “must give at least 7 days’ written notice by certified mail or personal delivery to the landlord before vacating or abandoning the premises, which notice must include the address where the tenant may be reached,” except when a written rental agreement provides otherwise. Failure to give that notice “relieves the landlord of the notice requirement of paragraph (3)(a) but does not waive any right the tenant may have to the security deposit or any part of it.”¹
The Florida Bar’s consumer guidance
The Florida Bar’s consumer pamphlet Rights and Duties of Tenants and Landlords addresses security deposits in its section on tenants. The Bar states that a landlord who requires a deposit “must preserve the deposit during the tenancy,” and that under some circumstances the tenant may receive the deposit back with interest.² The pamphlet also cautions that a tenant who moves out without giving the landlord an address for the deposit may lose the right to object if the landlord claims part of it, and it notes that landlords may offer tenants the option of paying a fee instead of a traditional deposit.² For tenants without a lawyer, the pamphlet points to The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service at 800-342-8011 and to local referral services and legal aid.² The full pamphlet is available on the Bar’s website, linked in the notes.
Security deposit claim forms published by county clerks
Some county clerks publish a small claims form written for a tenant seeking the return of a deposit. The Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller’s form, CLK/CT. 826 (revised 06/26), is titled “STATEMENT OF CLAIM (RETURN OF SECURITY DEPOSIT)” and is to be filed “in Duplicate Plus One For Each Defendant.” Its core text reads, “Plaintiff (tenant) sues the defendant (landlord) for the return of security deposit for the premises known as” an address the tenant fills in, followed by “Security has been due and owing since” a date and “Plaintiff demands judgment from the defendant for the sum of $.”³ The form is sworn before a notary or deputy clerk and includes a statement that “the defendant(s) is/are not in the military service of the United States.”³
The back of the Miami-Dade form carries an instruction sheet. It notes that “If the claim is based upon a written document, a copy, or the material part thereof, shall be attached to the statement of claim,” and that “If you are a PLAINTIFF and fail to appear on the designated date, in person or by an attorney, this case may be dismissed for Want of Prosecution.” It also states, “If you have any questions regarding procedures, this office will assist you. This office cannot furnish legal advice to you.”³
The Franklin County Clerk of Court publishes a similar form, titled “STATEMENT OF CLAIM-LANDLORD/TENANT-SECURITY DEPOSIT REFUND,” in its small claims division. It asks the tenant to list the principal, interest, and court costs claimed, to describe the lease (including “length of lease in months or years; amount of rent payment; amount of security deposit”), and to state that the tenant “demanded return of (security deposit or last month’s rent)” and that the landlord “has/have refused to return the security deposit or last month’s rent requested.”⁴ Each clerk’s forms and filing fees are published on that clerk’s website.
Need help typing the forms?
Need help completing the forms?
Form America LLC, the publisher of this site, offers flat-rate form typing for landlord-tenant matters in all 67 Florida counties. To request help, use the contact form at LandlordTenantForms.com. The security deposit claim forms described in this article are published by county clerks for small claims cases, and they do not appear on The Florida Bar’s list of landlord-tenant forms “approved by the Florida Supreme Court.”⁶ For forms outside that list, Rule 10-2.2 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar allows Form America to type the information you provide in writing, exactly as you write it, into your county’s form.⁵ You decide what your claim says and how much to demand. Form America cannot discuss the form with you, draft an objection letter for you, or tell you whether you have a claim. Before any work begins, you and the preparer sign the disclosure that rule requires. Your county clerk’s office can answer procedural questions, and The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service at 800-342-8011 can connect you with an attorney for questions about your rights.
Notes
- The Florida Senate, 2025 Florida Statutes, Section 83.49, Deposit money or advance rent; duty of landlord and tenant
- The Florida Bar, Consumer Pamphlet: Rights and Duties of Tenants and Landlords
- Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, Statement of Claim (Return of Security Deposit), CLK/CT. 826
- Franklin County Clerk of Court, Statement of Claim – Landlord/Tenant – Security Deposit Refund
- The Florida Bar, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Chapter 10 (June 30, 2026)
- The Florida Bar, Landlord Tenant Forms
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