Can Your Landlord E-mail the Deposit Notice? Florida's 2025 Change

For years the rule was simple. If a Florida landlord wanted to keep part of your deposit, the claim notice had to come by certified mail.

Then Florida changed the law. Chapter 2025-16 created Fla. Stat. § 83.505, and since July 1, 2025, e-mail is on the table. But not automatically, and not for everyone.

What changed

Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a) still gives the landlord 30 days after the rental agreement ends to send a written notice of intention to impose a claim on your deposit. What changed is how it can be delivered. It now reads: by certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address, "or by e-mail in accordance with s. 83.505."

That last phrase is doing all the work. No § 83.505 compliance, no valid e-mail notice.

What the addendum has to be

Section 83.505 lets a landlord or tenant deliver notices required under Florida's residential landlord-tenant law by e-mail only if:

• Both sides signed an addendum to the rental agreement specifically agreeing to electronic delivery of notices.
• Each side provided a valid e-mail address for that purpose.
• The addendum conspicuously says the election is voluntary, and that either side can revoke it or update their e-mail address at any time.

The statute gives a form the addendum must substantially follow. It has a landlord election and a tenant election, each with two boxes: agree to receive notices by e-mail at a designated address, or do not agree.

So the question is not "did my landlord have my e-mail?" Everyone has your e-mail. The question is whether you signed that addendum and checked the box agreeing to receive notices from the landlord by e-mail.

When an e-mailed notice counts

If there is a valid signed addendum, an e-mailed claim notice is deemed delivered at the time it is sent, unless it bounces back to the landlord as undeliverable.

That has a real consequence. Your 15-day window to object in writing runs from receipt of the notice, and an e-mail under a valid addendum is treated as received when sent. Whether you opened it is not the test. Check your inbox and your spam folder.

The landlord also has a duty here: the sender must keep a copy of the notice and evidence that the e-mail was sent.

When it does not count

Look hard at an e-mailed notice in these situations:

• No signed addendum. No addendum, no e-mail delivery under § 83.505.
• You checked "I do not agree." That is a no.
• A clause buried in the lease. The statute calls for an addendum in substantially the statutory form, including the conspicuous "voluntary" language. Boilerplate that does not match is worth questioning.
• You revoked it. You can revoke your agreement anytime with written notice. Revocation takes effect when delivered, though it does not undo notices already sent by e-mail.
• It went to the wrong address. If you updated your designated e-mail in writing, the update takes effect on delivery.
• It bounced. A returned, undeliverable e-mail is not deemed delivered.
• It was a text or app message. Section 83.505 covers e-mail.

The new law does not stop a landlord from using any other method the law allows. Certified mail to your last known mailing address still works.

Check your renewal, too

Under § 83.49(6), a renewal of an existing rental agreement is considered a new rental agreement. If you renewed after July 1, 2025, an e-mail addendum may have been slipped into the renewal packet even if your original lease had none. Read every page you signed, not just the first lease.

The clocks did not change

E-mail changed the delivery method. It did not change the timeline. Everything still runs from termination of the rental agreement:

• 15 days for the landlord to return your deposit if it makes no claim.
• 30 days for the landlord to send a valid written claim notice.
• 15 days from receipt for you to object in writing.

Miss the 30 days, or use a delivery method the statute does not allow, and the landlord generally forfeits the right to impose a claim on the deposit.

Do this now

1. Pull your lease, every addendum, and every renewal you signed.
2. Look for an e-mail notice addendum. Note which boxes are checked and which e-mail address you designated.
3. Search your inbox and spam folder for anything from the landlord or property manager after move-out.
4. If you want out of e-mail notices for the future, revoke in writing and keep proof.
5. Write down the date the rental agreement ended and the date any notice arrived.

E-mail is faster. It is not a loophole. Take the 60-second quiz to check whether your notice holds up, and use the deadline calculator to map your dates.

General information, not legal advice.