McMillan Law's office is in Tampa. I represent people in Clearwater and everywhere else in Florida, and the free case review happens by phone or online, so you don't have to drive anywhere to get started.
Last reviewed October 8, 2026 by Jackson McMillan, Florida attorney
A Clearwater notice that doesn't say much
Florida's deposit law gives landlords a form to use when they want to keep part of a deposit. It has a blank for the dollar amount and a blank for the reason, written as "due to" something. Some notices fill that second blank with a single word.
"Cleaning." "Repairs." "Damages." "Turnover." A charge like that tells you nothing about what was cleaned, what was fixed, who did the work, or what it cost. If you rented in Clearwater, whether in Countryside or a few blocks from Clearwater Beach, you may be holding one of these right now and wondering whether it's worth a fight.
A vague notice isn't automatically an invalid one. It is a reason to slow down, though, because your answer to it has a deadline attached.
Your 15 days to object, and why the notice comes to me first
The notice must tell you that you have 15 days after you receive it to object in writing, and it must give an address for your objection. Count from the day the notice reached you, not the date printed on it. Count calendar days, and don't assume a weekend or holiday buys extra time.
From there, the path splits:
- You object on time. Either you or the landlord may then ask a court to decide who gets the money.
- You don't object. The landlord may deduct its claim and must send you the rest within 30 days after the date of the notice.
Even if the 15 days slip by, you don't give up the right to bring a separate claim for damages (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b)). Still, an objection sent on time keeps the most options open.
An objection is a short letter, but it's also the first document in a possible case. I'd rather help you get it right than see it go out with the wrong date, the wrong address, or no list of what you're disputing.
Upload the notice, the envelope or e-mail it came in, your lease, and your move-out photos to my free case review today, so your objection goes out inside the 15 days and says what it needs to say.
Was the notice sent on time, and the right way?
Before arguing about a cleaning fee, look at the envelope. To keep any part of the deposit, the landlord had to send its notice within 30 days after the rental agreement ended, by certified mail addressed to your last known mailing address. E-mail was an option only if the two of you had signed an agreement to use it for notices.
A notice that came late, came by text, or went to an address the landlord knew was out of date raises a different question than whether the charges are fair. A landlord that doesn't send a proper notice within those 30 days forfeits the right to impose a claim on the deposit and can't keep any of it as a setoff. The main exception is a tenant who left before the lease term ended, or rented month to month, without giving the 7 days' written notice the statute asks for. The postmark and the certified mail label can matter as much as the letter inside.
To see whether day 30 had already passed when your notice went out, plug your dates into my deposit deadline calculator for Florida renters.
Renting in Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, or Safety Harbor
These rules don't change at the city line, so they cover a beach rental near Clearwater Beach, an apartment in Countryside, a duplex in Dunedin or Largo, or a house in Safety Harbor. Many Pinellas County rentals were damaged by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, which can blur the line between storm repairs and move-out charges on a notice that only says "repairs."
Clearwater is on the Pinellas side of the Tampa Bay area, so a deposit case over a Clearwater rental goes to county court in Pinellas County, part of the Sixth Judicial Circuit. Small claims takes disputes worth $8,000 or less, with costs, interest, and fees left out of that figure. County court takes larger ones up to $50,000.
I'm based in Tampa and take cases from Clearwater and all around the Tampa Bay area, with the review done by phone or online. If you're juggling more than one money problem, my guide to getting a bank or app fraud refund in Clearwater may help too.
What a deposit objection can be worth
The amount at stake is usually the part of the deposit the landlord kept, plus any interest you're owed. Florida doesn't double or triple a deposit as a penalty. The bigger lever is the fee rule: the winner of a deposit lawsuit gets its court costs and a reasonable fee for its lawyer, and no lease can waive that.
It also means a tenant who loses can owe the landlord's fees. I look at the notice, the lease, and the proof on both sides before I tell you whether a claim makes sense. You don't pay me unless you win. I take these cases on contingency: no attorney's fees and no case costs owed to me unless you recover money. If a case is lost, a court can sometimes order the losing side to pay the other side's court costs, and some Florida laws, including the security deposit and deceptive practices statutes, also let the winner recover attorney's fees from the loser. I explain that risk before anything is filed, and every term is in a written agreement before you sign.
For a fuller picture of how I take on these cases, see security deposit help for Florida tenants.
Before your 15 days run out
- Write down the day you received the notice and keep the envelope or e-mail it came in.
- List each charge and what you remember about that part of the unit when you left.
- Find your move-in checklist and photos. Anything showing the condition on day one matters.
- Look for receipts for any cleaning or repairs you paid for yourself before moving out.
- Skip the phone argument with the manager. Keep everything in writing.
- Send it to me. Upload the notice and your documents through the free case review, and I'll look at it with your objection deadline in mind.