What You Need to Know about Security Deposits

When considering renting a room or an apartment in South Florida, most landlords will be requiring a security deposit from you.

This is an amount you have to pay in advance – after signing the lease, but before moving in – as a type of security to ensure that the landlord will be compensated in case of damage brought to the property or if you decide to move out without paying any more rent.

Security Deposits in Florida

In most cases, in Florida, a security deposit will amount to about a month’s rent. While there are no state-wide laws governing exactly how much a landlord can and will ask for, you should still check local county regulations for the city you want to move in.

This can inform you on whether or not there’s a limit to the security deposit amounts in that region – a piece of information that can be very helpful when it comes to negotiating your lease.

Protecting your security deposit may be very important, since some landlords can come up with excuses about damages attributed to you that you shouldn’t have to pay for. Inspecting the property and making a detailed checklist of all the already existing damages can help prevent this.

What Your Landlord Should Tell You

The landlord has the responsibility of holding onto the security deposit until the time that it would be used to pay for any repairs, or to return it at the time when the renter decides to leave.

As such, Florida law requires landlords to disclose – within a period of 30 days after receiving the deposit – information about the bank account it is stored in, whether it’s an interest bearing account and how much the rate and time of the interest payments may be.

Every year, as well as at the termination of the lease, you have the right to be provided with any earnings on the interest the landlord receives, unless you wrongfully terminate the lease and leave.

The owner also has the responsibility to provide you with a timely advance notice, in the event he intends to claim any deduction on the amount of the security deposit received.

Having Your Security Deposits Returned

Knowing the terms of security deposit return is something that every tenant should focus on in order for the process to go smoothly once they decide to relocate.

In Florida, the law states that deposits have to be returned within a 15 to 60-day time window since you’ve returned the keys to the property and moved out.

It is important to note, however, that you have the right to dispute any claims the landlord has on amounts deducted from the deposit, and unless they provide you with an advance notice, their claim can be invalidated.

Additional Information

It’s important to find out all you need to know about the landlord/tenant law associated with security deposits paid along with signing a South Florida lease. All specific details about Florida law on security deposits can be found at Florida Statutes Annotated §§ 83.49 and 83.43.

Remember, however, that even though those laws may apply state-wide, the city and county where the property is located may present differences which should be researched accordingly before citing any of the laws in a notice or letter to the landlord.