83.49 Deposit money or advance rent; duty of landlord and tenant.
     (1) 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, the landlord or his agent shall either:
          (a) Hold the total amount of such money in a separate
non-interest-bearing account in a Florida banking institution for the
benefit of the tenant or tenants. 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;
          (b) Hold the total amount of such money in a separate
interest-bearing account in a Florida banking institution for the
benefit of the tenant or tenants, in which case the tenant shall receive
and collect interest in an amount of 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.
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; or  
          (c) Post a surety bond, executed by the landlord as principal
and a surety company authorized and licensed to do business in the state
as surety, with the clerk of the circuit court in the county in which the
dwelling unit is located in the total amount of the security deposits and
advance rent he or she holds on behalf of the tenants or $50,000, whichever
is less. The bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful compliance of the
landlord with the provisions of this section and shall run to the Governor
for the benefit of any tenant injured by the landlord's violation of the
provisions of this section. In addition to posting the surety bond, the
landlord shall pay to the tenant interest at the rate of 5 percent per year,
simple interest. A landlord, or the landlord's agent, engaged in the renting
of dwelling units in five or more counties, who holds deposit moneys or
advance rent and who is otherwise subject to the provisions of this section,
may, in lieu of posting a surety bond in each county, elect to post a surety
bond in the form and manner provided in this paragraph with the office of the
Secretary of State. The bond shall be in the total amount of the security
deposit or advance rent held on behalf of tenants or in the amount of
$250,000, whichever is less. The bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful
compliance of the landlord with the provisions of this section and shall run
to the Governor for the benefit of any tenant injured by the landlord's
violation of this section. In addition to posting a surety bond, the landlord
shall pay to the tenant interest on the security deposit or advance rent held
on behalf of that tenant at the rate of 5 percent per year simple interest. 
     (2) The landlord shall, within 30 days of receipt of advance
rent or a security deposit, notify the tenant in writing of the
manner in which the landlord is holding the advance rent or
security deposit and the rate of interest, if any, which the tenant
is to receive and the time of interest payments to the tenant.
Such written notice shall:
          (a) Be given in person or by mail to the tenant.
          (b) State the name and address of the depository where
the advance rent or security deposit is being held, whether the
advance rent or security deposit is being held in a separate
account for the benefit of the tenant or is commingled with other
funds of the landlord, and, if commingled, whether such funds are
deposited in an interest-bearing account in a Florida banking
institution.
          (c) Include a copy of the provisions of subsection (3).
Subsequent to providing such notice, if the landlord changes the
manner or location in which he is holding the advance rent or
security deposit, he shall notify the tenant within 30 days of the
change according to the provisions herein set forth.  This
subsection does not apply to any landlord who rents fewer than five
individual dwelling units.  Failure to provide this notice shall
not be a defense to the payment of rent when due.
     (3)  (a) Upon the vacating of the premises for termination of
the lease, the landlord shall have 15 days to return the security
deposit together with interest if otherwise required, or in which
to give the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant's
last known mailing address of his intention to impose a claim on
the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim.  The notice
shall contain a statement in substantially the following form:

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 from 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).  If the landlord
fails to give the required notice within the 15-day period, he
forfeits his right to impose a claim upon the security deposit.

          (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 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.
          (c) If either party institutes an action in a court of
competent jurisdiction to adjudicate his right to the security
deposit, the prevailing party is entitled to receive his court
costs plus a reasonable fee for his attorney.  The court shall
advance the cause on the calendar.
          (d) Compliance with this subsection by an individual or
business entity authorized to conduct business in this state,
including Florida-licensed real estate brokers and salespersons,
shall constitute compliance with all other relevant Florida
Statutes pertaining to security deposits held pursuant to a rental
agreement or other landlord-tenant relationship.  Enforcement
personnel shall look solely to this subsection to determine
compliance.  This subsection prevails over any conflicting
provisions in chapter 475 and in other sections of the Florida
Statutes.
     (4) The provisions of this section do not apply to transient
rentals by hotels or motels as defined in chapter 509; nor do they
apply in those instances in which the amount of rent or deposit, or
both, is regulated by law or by rules or regulations of a public
body, including public housing authorities and federally
administered or regulated housing programs including s. 202,
s. 221(d)(3) and (4), s. 236, or s. 8 of the National Housing Act,
as amended, other than for rent stabilization.  With the exception
of subsections (3), (5), and (6), this section is not applicable to
housing authorities or public housing agencies created pursuant to
chapter 421 or other statutes.
     (5) Except when otherwise provided by the terms of a written
lease, any tenant who vacates or abandons the premises prior to the
expiration of the term specified in the written lease, or any
tenant who vacates or abandons premises which are the subject of a
tenancy from week to week, month to month, quarter to quarter, or
year to year, shall give at least 7 days' written notice by
certified mail or personal delivery to the landlord prior to
vacating or abandoning the premises which notice shall include the
address where the tenant may be reached.  Failure to give such
notice shall relieve the landlord of the notice requirement of
paragraph
(3)(a) but shall not waive any right the tenant may have to the
security deposit or any part of it.
     (6) For the purposes of this part, a renewal of an existing
rental agreement shall be considered a new rental agreement, and
any security deposit carried forward shall be considered a new
security deposit.
     (7) Upon the sale or transfer of title of the rental property
from one owner to another, or upon a change in the designated
rental agent, any and all security deposits or advance rents being
held for the benefit of the tenants shall be transferred to the new
owner or agent, together with any earned interest and with an
accurate accounting showing the amounts to be credited to each
tenant account.
Upon the transfer of such funds and records as stated herein, and
upon transmittal of a written receipt therefor, the transferor
shall be free from the obligation imposed in subsection (1) to hold
such moneys on behalf of the tenant.  However, nothing herein shall
excuse the landlord or agent for a violation of the provisions of
this section while in possession of such deposits.
     (8) Any person licensed under the provisions of s. 509.241,
unless excluded by the provisions of this part, who fails to comply
with the provisions of this part shall be subject to a fine or to
the suspension or revocation of his license by the Division of
Hotels and Restaurants of the [Footnote 1] Department of Business
Regulation in the manner provided in s. 509.261.
     (9) In those cases in which interest is required to be paid to
the tenant, the landlord shall pay directly to the tenant, or
credit against the current month's rent, the interest due to the
tenant at least once annually.  However, no interest shall be due a
tenant who wrongfully terminates his tenancy prior to the end of
the rental term.

History: s. 1, ch. 69-282; s. 3, ch. 70-360; s. 1,
ch. 72-19; s. 1, ch. 72-43; s. 5, ch. 73-330; s. 1, ch. 74-93;
s. 3, ch. 74-146; ss. 1, 2, ch. 75-133; s. 1, ch. 76-15; s. 1,
ch. 77-445; s. 20, ch. 79-400; s. 21, ch. 82-66; s. 5, ch. 83-151;
s. 13, ch. 83-217; s. 3, ch. 87-195; s. 1, ch. 87-369; s. 3,
ch. 88-379; s. 2, ch. 93-255.