They kept your deposit.
Big mistake.
Free 2-minute case check · No signup · The law is on your side: Fla. Stat. 83.49
Run the case checkSteven C. Fraser (Florida Bar No. 625825) is a Florida attorney who recovers security deposits for tenants statewide, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Florida law gives your landlord 15 days to return your deposit or 30 days to send a written claim notice (by certified mail, or by e-mail only if you signed an e-mail notice addendum); a landlord who misses that deadline forfeits the deposit under Fla. Stat. 83.49, and when a tenant wins, the landlord pays the tenant's attorney's fees. The free case check below tells you in two minutes whether your landlord broke the rules.
Four steps. Zero phone tag.
You will always know exactly what happens next.
Two minutes, no signup. The quiz applies the same statute we use in court.
Your lease, the landlord's claim letter, and your objection go to a secure portal.
A free Zoom call with the attorney, who has already read your file.
E-sign the engagement letter and we go get your money.
Things they billed you for that are not your bill
Florida law forbids charging tenants for normal wear and tear. These are the classics on every padded claim letter:
TYPICAL CLAIM LETTER · ANNOTATED
Real damage beyond ordinary use and unpaid rent are different: those can be lawful deductions. The quiz sorts one from the other.
Deadlines are the whole game
Florida's deposit statute runs on a clock. Most landlords blow it.
Usually the day you move out and hand back the keys. Every deadline below counts from here.
If the landlord makes no claim, your full deposit is due back by now.
To keep a penny, the landlord must send a written claim notice by now: certified mail, or e-mail only if you signed an e-mail notice addendum. No valid notice means the claim is forfeited.
If a valid notice came, you have 15 days from receipt to object in writing.
Questions renters actually ask
Is this a real law firm?
Yes. KeptMyDeposit.com is a service of Steven C. Fraser, P.A., a Florida law firm. Steven C. Fraser is a Florida attorney, Florida Bar No. 625825, admitted in all Florida federal districts, handling tenant deposit recovery statewide.
What does it cost?
The case check and the first call are free. You keep at least 75% of your deposit, and in most cases all of it.† Court costs (filing fee and service of process) are your responsibility if suit is filed. Fla. Stat. 83.48, 83.49(3)(c).
What counts as normal wear and tear?
The ordinary aging a home goes through when someone lives in it: routine cleaning, repainting, carpet wear, lightbulbs, small nail holes, minor scuffs. Florida landlords cannot bill departing tenants for it, no matter what the move-out invoice says.
The claim notice never came. What now?
That is the strongest position a tenant can be in. A landlord who fails to send a valid claim notice (certified mail, or e-mail under a signed e-mail notice addendum) within 30 days forfeits the right to keep any of your deposit under Fla. Stat. 83.49(3). Run the case check and book the call.
I moved out months ago. Is it too late?
Often no. Deposit claims under a written lease can generally be brought for years, though deadlines apply and evidence fades fast. Check now rather than wonder.
Do you serve all of Florida?
Yes. The practice is statewide and fully virtual: the case check, document upload, and the attorney call all happen online, wherever in Florida you rented, from Pensacola to Key West.
What documents do I need?
Three things: your lease, the landlord's claim notice (the Notice of Intention to Impose Claim), by letter or e-mail, with its attachments, and your written objection if you sent one. Missing one? Bring what you have; the lease matters most.
¿Hablan español? Falam português?
Sí. Sim. The entire site and case check are available in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, and your case can be handled in your language.
The lawyer who keeps the receipts
Steven C. Fraser has spent decades making the law do what it promises. He represents Florida tenants because the deposit statute is clear, the deadlines are real, and most landlords are betting you will not check. You just checked.
FLORIDA BAR NO. 625825 · ADMITTED M.D. FLA. · N.D. FLA. · S.D. FLA. · D.D.C.