A Florida eviction can go from missed rent to a sheriff's writ in under a month, which makes it one of the fastest processes in the country. It is also one of the easiest to fumble, because every rung of the ladder has a technical requirement that county judges actually enforce. Start with the timeline, because everything else in Chapter 83 hangs off it.

The Florida eviction ladder, day by day

Florida recognizes three residential notices plus the month-to-month termination, all in Part II of Chapter 83:

  • 3-day notice to pay or vacate for nonpayment (Fla. Stat. § 83.56(3)). The 3 days exclude the day of service, weekends, and legal holidays, so a notice served Friday afternoon often does not expire until Thursday. Demand rent only; padding the notice with late fees or utilities is the classic defect that gets cases dismissed unless your lease clearly defines those charges as additional rent.
  • 7-day notice to cure for correctable lease violations like an unauthorized pet or parking (§ 83.56(2)(b)). If the same violation recurs within 12 months, no second chance to cure is required.
  • 7-day unconditional termination for destruction of the premises or other serious, non-curable conduct (§ 83.56(2)(a)).
  • 30-day notice to end a month-to-month tenancy, measured against the end of the monthly period (§ 83.57). This was 15 days until HB 1417 raised it, effective July 1, 2023, and plenty of older lease templates still get it wrong.

If the notice expires unanswered, you file in county court under the summary procedure. The tenant gets 5 business days to answer the possession count, and here is Florida's most landlord-favorable rule: to raise any defense other than payment, the tenant must deposit the accrued rent into the court registry and keep paying as it comes due, or the defenses are waived and you are entitled to an immediate default writ (§ 83.60(2)). After judgment, the clerk issues a writ of possession and the sheriff posts a 24-hour notice before executing it (§ 83.62).

What you cannot do is help yourself: no lock changes, no utility shutoffs, no removing doors or belongings. Each violation costs actual damages or 3 months' rent, whichever is greater, plus the tenant's attorney fees (§ 83.67). For true squatters with no lease at all, the 2024 unlawful-occupant law lets you bypass eviction entirely and have the sheriff remove them on a sworn affidavit (§ 82.036).

The § 83.49 deposit clock: 15, 30, then 60

Florida puts no cap on deposit size, unlike Georgia, which capped deposits at two months in 2024, or Washington, D.C., which stops at one. What Florida regulates, precisely, is what happens after move-out (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)):

  • No claim? Return the full deposit within 15 days of the tenant vacating.
  • Making a claim? Send written notice of your intent to impose a claim, with the reason, by certified mail to the tenant's last known address within 30 days. The statute prescribes the exact wording, including the tenant's 15-day window to object in writing.
  • Then finish it. If the tenant does not object within 15 days of receiving the notice, deduct your claim and remit any balance within 30 days of the date you sent the notice. End to end, a contested-free claim wraps in roughly 30 to 60 days.

Miss the 30-day certified-mail notice and you forfeit the right to claim against the deposit entirely. You can still sue for damages separately, but only after returning the money. In deposit litigation the prevailing party collects court costs plus attorney fees (§ 83.49(3)(c)), which turns sloppy paperwork into real money. Rentari puts the 15-day and 30-day deadlines on autopilot per move-out, which is exactly the kind of clock you do not want to track by memory.

Holding the money and the 5-unit disclosure

During the tenancy the deposit lives in one of three homes: a separate non-interest-bearing Florida account, an interest-bearing Florida account (pay the tenant 75 percent of the annualized average rate or 5 percent simple, your choice), or a surety bond posted with the county clerk (§ 83.49(1)). Commingling with operating funds is prohibited. Landlords with 5 or more dwelling units must also give written disclosure of how and where the deposit is held within 30 days of receiving it (§ 83.49(2)).

Since 2023 you may also offer a monthly fee in lieu of a security deposit (§ 83.491). It must be genuinely optional for the tenant, terminable by the tenant at any time, and papered with the statutory disclosures. The fee is not insurance for the tenant; they remain liable for damage.

Entry, repairs, and the 7-day habitability exchange

For repairs, you may enter with notice given at least 24 hours ahead, between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. (§ 83.53(2)). Emergencies, tenant consent, and extended tenant absence excuse notice. Refusing all access is itself a lease breach you can put on a 7-day cure notice.

Your maintenance floor is § 83.51: comply with applicable building and housing codes, and in multifamily buildings handle extermination, locks and keys, common areas, garbage removal, and functioning heat in winter. A tenant who wants to withhold rent must first serve a written 7-day notice specifying the failure (§ 83.56(1)); even then, in court they must pay the disputed rent into the registry to be heard. There is no statutory repair-and-deduct in Florida.

Rent, late fees, and the HB 1417 preemption

Florida has no rent control and no cap on rent increases, and since 2023 no city or county can create either. HB 1417 (2023) created Fla. Stat. § 83.425, which preempts the entire field of residential tenancies to the state and voided the county tenant bills of rights that Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, Hillsborough, and others had adopted, including their rent-increase notice ordinances. One statewide rulebook now governs from Pensacola to Key West.

Late fees have no statutory cap and no mandatory grace period; they are enforceable when the lease provides for them and the amount is reasonable rather than punitive. On a month-to-month tenancy, a rent increase works like a termination and re-offer, so give at least the same 30 days' notice tied to the monthly period (§ 83.57).

Disclosures Florida actually requires

  • Radon gas. Every lease must carry the exact radon notification language from § 404.056(5).
  • Deposit handling. The § 83.49 disclosures above, including a copy of the statutory deposit-claim provisions attached to or in the lease for 5-plus-unit landlords.
  • Owner or agent identity. Written disclosure of the landlord's or agent's name and address (§ 83.50).
  • Flood history. New for leases signed on or after October 1, 2025: rentals for terms of one year or longer need a separate, signed flood disclosure covering past flood damage, flood claims, and federal flood assistance (§ 83.512). A tenant who never got it and then suffers substantial flood loss can terminate and recover prepaid rent.
  • Lead-based paint. Pre-1978 housing takes the federal EPA/HUD disclosure and pamphlet.

What changed in Tallahassee, 2023 through 2026

Florida's recent sessions rewrote more of Chapter 83 than the previous decade combined:

  • July 1, 2023 (HB 1417): statewide preemption (§ 83.425) and the month-to-month notice going from 15 to 30 days.
  • July 1, 2023 (HB 133): the optional fee-in-lieu-of-deposit framework (§ 83.491).
  • July 1, 2024 (HB 621): sheriff removal of unlawful occupants without a full eviction (§ 82.036).
  • July 1, 2025 (HB 615): landlords and tenants may agree in a signed lease addendum to deliver statutory notices by email.
  • October 1, 2025 (SB 948): the flood disclosure for leases of a year or more (§ 83.512).
  • 2026 session: nothing passed. SB 716, which would have stretched the 3-day nonpayment notice to 5 days, and HB 107, which would have added domestic-violence eviction protections, both died on March 13, 2026.

Full statutory text lives at the Florida Legislature's site, and our Florida quick-reference page keeps the headline numbers current. If you also own near the state line, Delaware plays by a very different deposit rulebook.

Florida landlord FAQ

Can I put late fees in the 3-day notice?

Only if your lease expressly defines late fees as additional rent, and even then many county judges read § 83.56(3) narrowly. The safe play is a notice for rent only; chase the fees in the damages count or from the deposit.

How fast can I realistically evict for nonpayment?

Uncontested: often 3 to 5 weeks from serving the 3-day notice to the sheriff's execution of the writ. Contested cases run longer, but the § 83.60(2) registry requirement means a tenant fighting without paying rarely lasts long.

Is there any limit on what I can charge as a deposit?

No statutory cap. Market norms are 1 to 2 months' rent, and for higher-risk applicants the § 83.491 monthly fee alternative can widen your pool without raising the move-in wall.

Do the old county tenant ordinances still bind me?

No. Since July 1, 2023, § 83.425 preempts residential tenancy regulation to the state, so requirements like Miami-Dade's extra rent-increase notice no longer apply.

Do I owe interest on the deposit?

Only if you chose to hold it in an interest-bearing account or collected it on an annual lease under a bond arrangement; then pay 75 percent of the annualized average rate or 5 percent simple per year (§ 83.49(1)). Non-interest-bearing accounts owe nothing.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Statutes get amended and courts differ county to county, so verify anything you rely on against Chapter 83, Florida Statutes, or run it past a Florida landlord-tenant attorney.