Florida Landlord Compliance Kit: Deposit, Notice and Eviction Checklists with an Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Landlords and property managers with rentals in Florida, and tenants who want the same record, from move-in through move-out or a court case.

Not the right fit if

Your rental is outside Florida: get that state's kit. Not legal advice, not a lawyer's review of a lease, notice or court case, and not a set of legal notice forms; city and county rules aren't covered.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Florida data files, checked November 2026 against 6 official pages, among them The Florida Senate: 2026 Florida Statutes, 83.49; Florida Senate: 2025 Florida Statutes, Chapter 83 (Landlord and Tenant); Online Sunshine: Florida Statutes 83.60; Online Sunshine: Florida Statutes 34.041 (2026); Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court: Small Claims Court; Florida Courts E-Filing Portal: DIY Florida, plus National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel and The Florida Bar (a vetted secondary source, marked in the kit) where no official page could be read.
• 3 items the official pages didn't state are left out of the rules and put on a short look-up list with the page to check, never guessed.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and works out Florida notice and deposit dates for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 20 confirmed Florida rules at a glance and a short look-up list of 3 points to check: hearing after filing, paying to stop the case, diversion or mediation (statewide), each with the official page.
• Florida landlord rules checklist. Deposits, notice periods, the eviction case and the small claims limit, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date. What it confirms: deposit limit: No maximum in 83.49; return deadline: With no claim on the deposit: return it (with any interest owed) within 15 days after the rental agreement ends; itemized list of deductions: A written notice of intention to impose a claim, by certified mail, in substantially the wording 83.49(3)(a) gives; interest on the deposit: Depends on how it's held: none in a separate non-interest-bearing account; in an interest-bearing account, at least 75% of the annualized average rate or 5% simple, as the landlord elects; with a surety bond, 5% simple; where the deposit is held: In a separate account at a Florida financial institution (non-interest or interest-bearing), or the landlord posts a surety bond; penalty the law states: A landlord who misses the 30-day claim notice forfeits the right to impose a claim on the deposit; ending month-to-month (landlord): Written notice at least 30 days before the end of any monthly period (7 days before the end of a weekly period); ending month-to-month (tenant): Written notice at least 30 days before the end of any monthly period (7 days before the end of a weekly period); rent increase notice: No notice period for rent increases in Part II of chapter 83 as read; unpaid rent notice: 3 days after written demand, excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays; entry notice: For repairs, at least 24 hours' notice, entering between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m; late fee limits: No late fee limit in Part II of chapter 83 as read; court: The county court of the county where the rental is; filing fee: $180 to file a removal of tenant action in county court; time to answer or appear: 5 days after service, not counting weekends and legal holidays; judgment to writ: If the tenant misses the registry deadline, the landlord can get an immediate default judgment and the writ issues without another hearing.
• Move-in and move-out deposit checklist. A room-by-room condition checklist for both visits and the steps after move-out, with Florida's return deadline (within 30 days).
• Notice calendar. When each notice must go out: the lead time for every notice the state's text confirms, with a 2027 month-by-month serve-by table worked out with our notice date calculator's rules.
• Eviction timeline sheet. The Florida case in order from notice to lockout, with each confirmed stage, an example dated from a sample filing day where the rules give periods, and blanks for your own case dates.
• Florida landlord workbook (Excel). A tenant notice log that dates each notice from the Florida rules, a deposit tracker that works out the return date for each move-out, and a rent ledger with a running balance.