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Florida security deposits: the 15-day and 30-day dates, built into your move-out list

From the 2026 text of F.S. 83.49 and 83.505: the two dates, which day counts as day 1, the notice’s wording and a move-out list that counts both.

Lumora, Gainesville. . 8 min read

On this page 11 sections

General information, not legal advice.

So every row on your move-out list needs two dates, day 15 and day 30, counted from the earlier of the move-out and the lease end. Turn week is when they slip. Our sample office, Moorhen Property Management, runs 212 rentals and had 131 move-outs on one list last August, most of them on leases that ended July 31.

The two dates, in the statute’s words

Both are in F.S. 83.49(3)(a). With no claim, the landlord “must return the security deposit, together with interest if otherwise required, within 15 days after the termination of the rental agreement.”

With 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.”

  • Day 15to return the whole deposit, with any interest owed, when you claim nothing

    Source: Florida Statutes, section 83.49 (2026): deposit money or advance rent.

  • Day 30to send the claim notice, by certified mail or by email under a signed addendum, or lose the claim on the deposit

    Source: Florida Statutes, section 83.49 (2026): deposit money or advance rent.

The same paragraph says what a late notice costs. The landlord “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.”

In plain words: the whole deposit goes back, and the only way left to the money is a lawsuit, filed after you return it.

Which day is day 1

The statute counts from “the termination of the rental agreement.” The disclosure that a landlord with five or more units must give every tenant, word for word from 83.49(2)(d), tells the tenant the notice comes “WITHIN 30 DAYS AFTER YOU MOVE OUT.”

When a tenant leaves before the lease ends, those are two different days, and the tenant holds your disclosure in writing. So we start the count at the earlier of the two. That is our cautious reading, and it only ever moves the date earlier.

On Moorhen’s sample list, unit OAK-3 had a lease to July 31, and Ana Garcia moved out July 28. On Monday, August 24, the list counted from the lease end and showed day 24. Counted from the move-out, she was at day 27 and her day 30 was Thursday, August 27. Nobody had started the letter.

We count the day after the lease ends, or after the move-out, as day 1. For the leases that ended July 31, 2026, day 15 was Saturday, August 15, and day 30 was Sunday, August 30. Our habit is to mail by day 25, which was Tuesday, August 25, and never to lean on a weekend to stretch day 30.

The statute says the notice must be provided within 30 days and does not say whether that means the day you mail it or the day the tenant gets it. Mailing by day 25 covers both readings.

One rule cuts the other way. Unless the lease says otherwise, a tenant who leaves before the lease ends must give at least 7 days’ written notice, by certified mail or personal delivery, with an address where the tenant can be reached.

Under 83.49(5), failing to give that notice “relieves the landlord of the notice requirement” of (3)(a). We send the notice anyway, because that relief rests on facts about the tenant’s notice that you may have to prove later.

What the notice says, and how it goes

The notice must carry “a statement in substantially the following form,” and 83.49(3)(a) prints that form in full.

It has four parts: the claim, with its dollar amount and its reason; a line saying it is sent “as required by s. 83.49(3), Florida Statutes”; the warning that the tenant “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”; and the address where the objection goes.

Copy the form into your office’s template from the statute itself, linked in the sources, and list the charges under it, each with its amount. The paragraph that sets the deadline allows two ways to send it.

Certified mail. It goes to the tenant’s last known mailing address. On Moorhen’s list, BRM-118-D, Luis Martinez, left no forwarding address. The statute asks for the last known address, so a missing forwarding address does not stop the count. Settle which address that is well before day 25.

Email. Only where the landlord and the tenant both signed the email addendum in F.S. 83.505, which tells both sides the choice is voluntary and can be revoked.

An emailed notice “is deemed delivered at the time it is sent, unless the e-mail is returned to the sender as undeliverable,” and the sender “must maintain a copy of any notice sent electronically and evidence of the transmission of the e-mail.” A tenant can revoke the addendum or change the address in writing at any time, so check the file on the day you send.

After the notice: 15 days to object, 30 to send the balance

Under 83.49(3)(b), the tenant has 15 days after receiving the notice to object in writing. With no objection, the landlord may deduct the 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.”

On the sample list, the morning count put OAK-3 at the top, and the office mailed its notice certified on Tuesday, August 25, day 28, dated that day. It was delivered Thursday, August 27, so the objection window ran to Friday, September 11.

With a $1,500 deposit and a $410 claim (both sample numbers), the $1,090 balance was due by Thursday, September 24, 30 days after the date of the notice. Date each notice the day it is mailed, so the 30 days for the balance start on a day your mail receipt shows.

The 15 days run from receipt, and the statute does not say what happens when a certified letter comes back unclaimed. Keep the envelope and the tracking record in the file. If the tenant objects, (3)(b) sets no further date, and either side can take the deposit to court.

What a late notice costs

The top row of Moorhen’s sample walk sheet is deposit claims sent after day 30: 6 late claims in a year on house and duplex leases, at a $450 average claim, sample numbers. That is $2,700 a year the office can no longer take from the deposits.

Each of those deposits went back whole. Each $450 now takes a lawsuit, and under (3)(c) the side that wins gets its court costs plus a reasonable attorney’s fee, so a weak claim can cost more than it was worth.

Claims sent after day 30 × average claim = what late notices cost a year

To count yours, take last year’s move-out list and compare each claim’s mailing date with day 30, counted from the earlier of the move-out and the lease end. Your numbers will be different, and the result is a rough figure, not a promise.

Build the two dates into your move-out list

  1. Step 1 of 5

    One row per move-out: unit, tenant, lease end, move-out date and day 1, the day after the earlier of those two.

  2. Step 2 of 5

    Add day 15, day 30 and a mail-by date at day 25. When day 25 falls on a weekend, move it to the Friday before.

  3. Step 3 of 5

    Mark how the notice goes: certified mail to the last known mailing address, or email only where the signed 83.505 addendum is on file.

  4. Step 4 of 5

    When the notice goes, log the mailing date, the certified tracking number, the delivery date, the day the objection window closes (receipt plus 15) and the day any balance is due (the notice’s date plus 30).

  5. Step 5 of 5

    Each morning in turn week, sort by day count. Any row past day 20 with no letter started goes to the top.

A spreadsheet does all of this, and so does your property software’s move-out report if it lets you add date columns and sort.

The deposit account, while you are at it

The same section sets four more rules an office should check once a year:

  • Hold deposits in a separate account in a Florida financial institution, with or without interest, or post a surety bond instead (83.49(1)). Deposit money is never mixed with the landlord’s other funds. With an interest-bearing account, the tenant gets at least 75 percent of the annualized average rate or 5 percent a year simple interest, whichever the landlord elects.
  • If you rent five or more units, give each tenant written notice within 30 days of getting the deposit, or put it in the lease: the depository’s name and address, or the bond, whether interest is owed and the disclosure printed in (2)(d). If you move the money to another account, notify tenants again within 30 days of the change.
  • A renewal counts as a new rental agreement, and a deposit carried forward counts as a new security deposit (83.49(6)).
  • When the designated rental agent changes, the deposits go to the new agent with any earned interest and “an accurate accounting” for each tenant (83.49(7)). For an office taking on new doors, that accounting is the first thing to ask for.

What stays with your office

Your office decides every charge, signs and mails every notice and moves every dollar in and out of the deposit account. Our part is the list above, built inside the software or spreadsheet you already use, with the days counted each morning, and each notice still comes from your own template.

We find this work on a paid walk of your office, and the page on how a walk works shows each step of it. We never send a notice for the office, never move money and never sign for the broker.

Where to start

Open last year’s move-out list and count the claims mailed after day 30, counted from the earlier date. The walk sheet on our property managers page does the same count for Moorhen, with its move-out list before and after the fix. To go over yours, call or text us for a free call.

Sources, in plain words

Questions and answers

How long does a Florida landlord have to return a security deposit?

With no claim, 15 days after the lease ends, with any interest owed. With a claim, the notice goes out within 30 days and the tenant has 15 days after receiving it to object. With no objection, the balance goes back within 30 days after the date of the notice (F.S. 83.49(3)).

What happens if the claim notice goes out after day 30?

The landlord “forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit.” The whole deposit goes back. The landlord may still sue for damages, but only after returning the deposit (F.S. 83.49(3)(a)).

Can I email the deposit claim notice in Florida?

Only where the landlord and the tenant both signed the email addendum in F.S. 83.505. The email counts as delivered when it is sent, unless it bounces, and the sender must keep a copy and proof it was sent. Without the addendum, send it by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address.

Do the 30 days start at the move-out or at the end of the lease?

The statute counts from “the termination of the rental agreement.” The disclosure a landlord with five or more units gives every tenant says the notice comes “WITHIN 30 DAYS AFTER YOU MOVE OUT.” We count from whichever came first, and mail by day 25.

What does the deposit claim notice have to say?

The statute’s form, in substance: your intention to impose a claim for damages in a stated amount and why, that it is sent as required by s. 83.49(3), that the tenant must object in writing within 15 days after receiving it or you may deduct the claim and the address where the objection goes.

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