Your Landlord Sold the Building: Who Returns Your Deposit in Florida?

It happens more often than tenants expect. You sign a lease with one landlord, and partway through, a letter arrives saying the property has a new owner and a new place to send rent. Months later you move out and ask for your deposit. The new owner says it never received it. The old owner has moved on. Who owes you the money?

Florida law answers that question directly.

What the statute requires on a sale

Fla. Stat. 83.49(7) says that upon the sale or transfer of title of the rental property, all security deposits and advance rents held for tenants "shall be transferred to the new owner or agent," together with any earned interest and an accurate accounting showing the amount credited to each tenant. The same rule applies when the property gets a new rental agent or management company.

The statute also explains when the old owner is off the hook. The transferring owner is released from its obligation to hold the deposit only after it transfers the funds and records to the new owner and receives a written receipt. A seller that skips that step has not cleanly handed off the responsibility.

The new owner is presumed to have your deposit

This is the key protection for tenants. Section 83.49(7) creates a rebuttable presumption that any new owner or agent received the security deposit from the previous owner or agent. That presumption is limited to one month's rent.

In practical terms:

• If your deposit was one month's rent or less, the new owner is presumed to have received it. It is generally the new owner you look to at move-out, and it cannot simply say "we never got it" and walk away.
• If your deposit was more than one month's rent, the presumption covers only up to one month's rent. For the rest, the facts of what was actually transferred will matter, and the prior owner may also be responsible.
• "Rebuttable" means the new owner can try to prove otherwise. But the burden of that argument is on the owner, not on you.

The statute also states that it does not excuse the landlord or agent for other violations of section 83.49 while it held the deposit.

The deadlines still run from the end of your tenancy

A sale does not reset the clock. After the rental agreement ends, the landlord in place at that time must either return the deposit within 15 days or send written notice of a claim within 30 days, by certified mail to your last known mailing address or by e-mail if you signed an addendum under Fla. Stat. 83.505. A new owner that misses the 30-day notice can forfeit the right to impose a claim, just like any other landlord. The timeline is explained in Florida Security Deposit Deadlines.

New owners sometimes miss these deadlines because they inherited tenants they know little about. That can work in your favor.

What to do if the building was sold

• Keep the sale notice. Save any letter, e-mail, or portal message announcing the new owner or manager, along with your original lease and proof of the deposit you paid.
• Ask in writing. Send a written request for your deposit to the new owner. If you can identify the prior owner, send a copy to it as well, so both are on notice.
• Ask for the accounting. The statute requires an accounting of the amounts credited to each tenant. A written request for it can clarify whether your deposit was transferred.
• Give a forwarding address. Make sure the landlord has a current mailing address for you, since the claim notice goes to your last known mailing address.
• Track the dates. Note the day your tenancy ended and watch for a claim notice within 30 days.
• Keep copies of everything. Use a delivery method you can prove, such as certified mail, and keep the receipts.

Frequently asked questions

My landlord sold the property. Do I lose my deposit?

No. Under Fla. Stat. 83.49(7), the deposit must be transferred to the new owner with an accounting. The sale does not erase your right to it.

The new owner says it never received my deposit. Now what?

The statute presumes the new owner received it, up to one month's rent. The new owner can try to rebut that presumption, but it cannot simply refuse to deal with you. If your deposit was larger than one month's rent, the prior owner may also need to answer for the difference.

Who has to send the 30-day claim notice?

The landlord in place when your tenancy ends. If the property was sold before you moved out, that is usually the new owner. The notice must be timely and sent by certified mail, or by e-mail under a signed s. 83.505 addendum.

Does the sale give the landlord more time?

No. The 15-day and 30-day deadlines in Fla. Stat. 83.49 run from the end of the rental agreement, not from the date of the sale.

Can I recover attorney's fees if I have to sue?

Florida provides for prevailing-party attorney's fees under Fla. Stat. 83.48. See Who Pays the Attorney's Fees.

Find out where you stand

Every case depends on its own facts, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The free 2-minute case check below applies Fla. Stat. 83.49 to your situation, including a change in ownership, and tells you in plain language whether the landlord kept more than it should have. No signup, no obligation, available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.