Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

This is a Landlord/Tenant question. Not Probate. No one has died.

However, make sure you leave your forwarding address for your landlord. They are required to send you a statutory notice advising you they are withholding your security deposit within 15 days of vacating. If they fail to do it, or if they fail to follow exactly the law on it, you are entitled to your security deposit back even if you are in the wrong. You must file an action based upon that law, and they can have no defense. You should win.

Now if they do give you the notice in the 15 days properly, then you must be notified that you have 30 days to object, or they can keep the money in dispute, but they must return the difference. In that case, you can send them an objection in the 30 days. Unfortunately the law does not state who must file an action to resolve the dispute and Landlords tend to let it go figuring that unless the Tenant files the action will die for lack of pursuing. Then it is up to you.

In all events you should return the keys, othewrise an eventual hearing officer may look into their Legal guide put out by the Court if it is mediated and resolve that the holding of the keys represents continual rental and failure to turn over possession and you will continue to be liable under the lease terms and perhaps for another automatic stated period of rent.

Attorney Kapplan's adivice above is good and you should follow the same and be sure to follow it up immediately by yourself filing a legal action, otherwise you may be deemed to have waived your right.

Do a walk through with an officer of the law - pay them for their moonlighting time - take pictures. This way if you have to go to court, you will have a non-interested person - bound by the laws of the State of Florida, to testify for you.