Florida Security Deposit Claim Notice: Preparation Guide

Start with Florida Statutes section 83.49

The Florida Legislature's current 2026 section 83.49(3)(a) separates two paths after a residential rental agreement ends. If the landlord does not intend to impose a claim, the statute states that the deposit, with interest if otherwise required, must be returned within 15 days after termination. If the landlord intends to impose a claim, the statute provides a 30-day notice process and required notice language.

The same section addresses the tenant's written objection, distribution of any remaining balance, lawsuits over the deposit, and consequences when the required notice is not timely provided. Those provisions should be read in full rather than reduced to a form-filling checklist.

Sources checked October 3, 2026. Statutes can change. Review the live Legislature pages, the complete rental agreement, and the facts of the matter before relying on any template.

What is the Sun State security deposit claim notice?

Sun State's Notice of Intention to Impose Claim on Security Deposit is a one-page fillable template based on sections 83.49(3) and 83.505. Its configured revision is September 2, 2026. The PDF preserves the statutory notice paragraph and provides fields for customer-supplied names, addresses, dates, amounts, reasons, sender information, and a delivery record.

What information appears in the template?

1. Separate a no-claim return from an intention to impose a claim

The 15-day return language and the 30-day claim-notice language describe different statutory paths. This template is for the notice-of-intention path. Merely opening or completing it does not establish that a claim exists or that the notice is the proper response.

Sun State does not decide whether money should be returned, retained, or disputed. Questions about the lease, deposit classification, accrued interest, move-out circumstances, subsidized housing, or other exceptions may require independent legal advice.

2. Confirm the termination date without using the filler as a calendar

The template asks separately for the notice date and the rental-agreement termination date. Section 83.49 ties its 15-day and 30-day language to termination of the rental agreement after the tenant vacates. A move-out day, key-return day, lease end date, abandonment date, and legal termination date may not always be interchangeable.

The software does not identify the controlling event, start a clock, count calendar days, adjust for weekends or holidays, or warn when time has expired. Entering a date only places customer-supplied text into the PDF.

3. Verify every former tenant name and address

The PDF displays the former tenant name or names, the tenant's last known mailing address, and the rental-property address. Current section 83.49(3)(a) identifies the tenant's last known mailing address for certified-mail delivery. The statute also says that a tenant moving out must give the landlord a new address for deposit notices.

Sun State does not determine who must be named, whether multiple tenants require separate handling, which address is legally sufficient, or whether records are current. Compare entries with trustworthy source records before printing.

4. Keep the deposit total distinct from the proposed claim

The template has one field for the total security deposit and another for the amount of the intended claim. These numbers serve different purposes. The software formats customer-entered values but does not total invoices, apply lease provisions, calculate interest, determine depreciation, allocate payments, cap a claim, or calculate the remaining balance.

A customer remains responsible for the source and accuracy of every amount. If ownership of funds, accounting, interest, offsets, or allocation is disputed, the form cannot resolve the dispute.

5. Supply the reasons yourself; the software does not characterize damage

Section 83.49 requires the written notice to state the reason for imposing the claim. The template therefore provides a large box for the customer's itemized reasons. Sun State does not inspect the property, compare move-in and move-out conditions, review photographs, read invoices, distinguish damage from ordinary wear, interpret the lease, or draft allegations.

6. Preserve the statutory objection language and provide an address

The fixed paragraph follows the statute's substantially prescribed notice language. It tells the recipient to object in writing within 15 days after receipt and directs the objection to the displayed address. The template includes an address field inside that paragraph, plus a landlord-or-agent name and phone field below it.

The filler does not rewrite the fixed paragraph or determine whether an address is monitored, complete, or proper. It also does not receive, track, or evaluate an objection.

7. Read every timing provision instead of relying on a single number

Current section 83.49(3) contains several different time references: 15 days for the no-claim return path, 30 days for providing a claim notice after termination, 15 days after receipt for a tenant objection, and a separate balance-remittance provision. The legal effect of missing a step is also addressed in the statute.

This guide lists those provisions for source navigation only. It does not calculate a deadline, determine when a notice was delivered or received, decide whether an objection was timely, or state what a particular party should do next.

8. Certified mail and email are not interchangeable checkboxes

Current section 83.49(3)(a) permits the claim notice by certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address or by email in accordance with section 83.505. The template displays those two choices so the person responsible for delivery can record the independently selected method.

Section 83.505 permits email only when the parties signed the described rental-agreement addendum, specifically agreed to electronic notices, and supplied valid designated email addresses. It also addresses voluntary election, revocation, address updates, when an email is deemed delivered, undeliverable messages, and retention of the notice and transmission evidence.

The software does not review an addendum, confirm consent remains effective, select a method, send email or certified mail, monitor for a returned message, or determine legal delivery.

9. Sign and complete the delivery record only after the related acts occur

The released PDF leaves a manual signature line for the landlord or authorized agent. Its delivery record includes the selected method, designated tenant email when applicable, printed sender name, and a blank line for a certified-mail tracking number or email transmission record.

A generated PDF is not a signed notice, a mailed item, a sent email, proof of receipt, a completed accounting, an agreed deduction, or a judgment. Retain documents and evidence according to requirements determined outside the software.

10. A notice does not finally decide who receives the deposit

Section 83.49 preserves court remedies and states that failing to make a timely objection does not waive the tenant's right to seek damages in a separate action. It also addresses costs and attorney fees when a party brings an action to determine rights to the deposit.

Sun State does not negotiate a dispute, adjudicate facts, determine the prevailing party, prepare a lawsuit, or predict fees or outcomes. Consider prompt independent help when the amount, facts, deadline, delivery, or right to the deposit is contested.

Before using any security deposit claim template

• Open the current Legislature pages for sections 83.49 and 83.505
• Read the complete rental agreement and any electronic-delivery addendum
• Independently determine whether the no-claim return path or claim-notice path applies
• Verify the termination date, every recipient, and the last known mailing address
• Check each amount and prepare the factual reasons outside the software
• Do not use the filler to calculate a deadline or choose a delivery method
• Leave signing and the delivery record for the correct person and time
• Retain the completed notice and delivery evidence under independently determined requirements

This checklist organizes source review. It does not establish that a claim is proper, complete, timely, accurate, collectible, or enforceable.

Common factual questions

Current sources and independent help

Prepared by Sun State Legal Forms. Published and substantively reviewed October 3, 2026 using the current 2026 Florida Statutes pages and the complete released one-page Sun State template, revision September 2, 2026. Read our content and source-review standards.