Did your St. Petersburg landlord keep your security deposit? We put Florida Statute 83.49 to work for Pinellas County renters — with no fees unless we win.
St. Petersburg has transformed faster than almost any city on Florida’s Gulf coast. Rents downtown and along the Central Avenue corridor have climbed sharply, and with higher rents come higher deposits — often two months’ worth on a single lease. When a landlord in the EDGE District, Kenwood, or the Historic Old Northeast decides to keep that money at move-out, the loss can run into thousands of dollars.
Hoffman Legal represents tenants throughout St. Petersburg and the wider Pinellas peninsula, from Gulfport and Pinellas Park to Largo, Clearwater, Dunedin, and the beach towns. Your entire case can be handled by phone, email, and video — most of our clients never need to set foot in an office — and the protection we enforce is the same statewide law: Florida Statute 83.49.
Whether you rented a restored bungalow in Crescent Lake, a high-rise unit near the St. Pete Pier, or a single-family home bought up by an out-of-state investment firm, the rules your landlord must follow are strict, the deadlines are short, and the penalty for ignoring them is forfeiture of the claim against your deposit.
Two trends collide in St. Petersburg: rapid redevelopment and the arrival of large corporate landlords. Institutional investors now own thousands of single-family rentals across Pinellas County, and their move-out inspections are often run from out-of-state call centers using standardized deduction checklists. Tenants report boilerplate charges — full repaints, whole-home “deep cleans,” carpet replacement — applied regardless of how the home was actually returned.
Florida law doesn’t bend for scale. A corporate landlord managing 5,000 doors faces the same 15-day and 30-day deadlines as the retiree renting out a Gulfport duplex, and the same rule that ordinary wear and tear is never deductible. In our experience, standardized deduction letters frequently fail the statute’s specificity and delivery requirements — and that failure is a tenant’s strongest card.
Florida’s security deposit rules are statewide, but here is how they play out for St. Petersburg tenants.
A St. Petersburg landlord who takes no deductions owes your full deposit back within 15 days of move-out. To keep any portion, they must mail an itemized claim by certified mail (or agreed-upon email) within 30 days.
Deposit disputes from St. Petersburg are handled by the Pinellas County Court, with courthouses in Clearwater and downtown St. Petersburg. Claims of $8,000 or less go through the small claims division.
If your landlord misses the 30-day notice window or sends a vague, unitemized letter, Florida law says they forfeit the right to impose a claim on your deposit.
When a tenant prevails, Florida law generally requires the landlord to pay the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs — which is how we take strong cases at no cost to you.
Tell us what happened. We review your lease, your move-out, and any deduction notice — at no cost — and give you an honest read on your claim.
We gather your photos, texts, receipts, and payment records and pinpoint exactly where your landlord violated Statute 83.49.
We send a formal demand letter that property managers and corporate landlords take seriously. Most St. Pete disputes settle at this stage.
If the landlord won’t do the right thing, we’re prepared to file in the Pinellas County Court and pursue every dollar you’re owed.
You pay nothing unless we win. The consultation is always free.
Your whole case handled by phone, email, or video — no trips across the bay required.
Speak with a real attorney, not a call center — day or night.
Full representation in English or Spanish — your choice, at no extra cost.
Under Florida Statute 83.49, a St. Petersburg landlord who makes no deductions must return your full deposit within 15 days of move-out. If they intend to keep any portion, they must send written, itemized notice by certified mail (or agreed-upon email) within 30 days. Miss either deadline and they forfeit the right to claim against your deposit.
St. Petersburg cases are filed in the Pinellas County Court, which operates courthouses in Clearwater and downtown St. Petersburg. Claims of $8,000 or less are handled in the small claims division — a faster, simpler track. In practice, most of our cases settle on a demand letter before anything is filed.
No — and it often helps you. Corporate landlords must follow the same 15/30-day rules as any local owner, but their standardized deduction letters are frequently late, generic, or missing the statute’s required delivery. Those procedural failures can void the entire claim against your deposit, no matter what the checklist says.
Usually not. Florida law does not allow deductions for ordinary wear and tear — faded paint, minor scuffs, and normal-use carpet wear are turnover costs the landlord absorbs. Deductions are only proper for genuine damage beyond normal living, documented in a timely, itemized notice.
Yes. We represent renters across Pinellas County — Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, Seminole, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Gulfport, St. Pete Beach, and Treasure Island included. The law is identical countywide, and we handle everything remotely, so your city never limits your case.
A note on how deposit notices may be delivered: since July 1, 2025, a Florida landlord may deliver the deduction notice by email instead of certified mail — but only when landlord and tenant have both signed the electronic-delivery addendum described in Florida Statute 83.505. A landlord who misses the notice deadline forfeits the right to keep your deposit, although the law still allows a separate damages lawsuit after the deposit is returned.
Sources: Fla. Stat. § 83.49 — security deposits • Fla. Stat. § 83.505 — electronic delivery of notices
This page provides general information about Florida law, not legal advice for your specific situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your case, contact us for a free consultation.
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