Pet Deposits, Pet Rent and Assistance Animals in Florida
Florida answers the money question in two statutes, and the answer is the same in both: no extra charge for the animal. What landlords can still collect, when your deposit has to come back, and how the 2023 fee-in-lieu option fits in are the details worth knowing before you sign.
Move-in charges
For an approved assistance animal in FloridaTwo Statutes, One Answer
Florida covers both kinds of assistance animal, in separate chapters, with the same phrase: no "extra compensation."
Emotional support animals
Section 760.27 says a person with a disability or disability-related need may not be required to pay extra compensation for the animal.
It also makes that person liable for damage the animal does to the premises or to another person on them.
Service animals
Section 413.08 says the same for a person with a disability who uses a service animal in housing.
It adds the same liability: the handler pays for damage done to the premises.
What a Landlord May Still Collect
The ban is on charges that exist because of the animal. Charges every tenant pays are a different matter.
Your Deposit Clock
Florida Statute 83.49 runs on short, fixed deadlines. Enter the day the lease ended and, if you have one, the day a claim notice reached you.
The 2023 Fee-in-Lieu Option
Since July 2023, Florida landlords may offer a monthly fee instead of a security deposit, under Section 83.491. It confuses a lot of animal owners.
- It is optional. The landlord decides whether to offer it; you decide whether to take it.
- The landlord must disclose the amounts in writing, and that the fee is nonrefundable if it is.
- You can switch to a regular deposit later by paying it.
- It replaces the ordinary deposit. A separate "pet fee in lieu" for an assistance animal would still be extra compensation.
Sorting Out Animal Charges
Four charges show up on Florida leases and ledgers. Here is how each one sits with an approved assistance animal.
Damage Is Still Yours
The no-extra-charge rule protects you at move-in. At move-out, ordinary deposit rules take over.
- Photograph and date every room when you move in, and again when you leave.
- Chewed trim, scratched doors and stained carpet are damage. Normal wear from living there is not.
- A claim must be specific and made on time, the same as for any tenant.
- Offering in your request to cover damage costs nothing and answers the landlord's main worry.
Where Your Deposit Has to Sit
Section 83.49 gives the landlord three choices, and requires written notice of which one within 30 days of receiving the money, if the lease does not already say.
Fees After the 2026 Federal Change
HUD's May 2026 memo stopped treating waivers of pet rules for untrained animals as presumptively reasonable, and it is easy to read that as permission to charge pet fees again.
In Florida that reading misses the point. The ban on extra compensation is written into state law, in both Section 760.27 and Section 413.08, and the federal memo did not change either. How the state commission handles a fee complaint is worth confirming with it on (850) 488-7082.
Getting an Animal Charge Refunded
If pet rent or a pet deposit was charged after your animal was approved, work through it in writing.
What an Evaluation Costs
Live prices. For many renters the letter costs less than a single year of pet rent; the screening itself is free.
Deposit and Fee Questions
Do emotional support animals have to pay a pet deposit in Florida?
No. Florida Statute 760.27 says a person with a disability-related need for an emotional support animal may not be required to pay extra compensation for it. That rules out a pet deposit, pet rent and pet fees for the approved animal.
Can a Florida landlord still charge me a security deposit?
Yes. The ordinary security deposit that every tenant pays is not extra compensation for the animal, so it still applies. What cannot be added is a charge that exists only because the animal lives there.
Who pays if my ESA damages the apartment?
You do. Florida law makes the person with the animal liable for damage it causes to the premises or to another person there, and the landlord can claim against the ordinary deposit for it.
How long does a Florida landlord have to return my deposit?
Fifteen days after the lease ends if there is no claim. To keep any of it, the landlord must send written notice of the claim by certified mail within 30 days, and you then have 15 days from receiving it to object.
What is a fee in lieu of a security deposit?
Since July 2023, Florida lets landlords offer a monthly nonrefundable fee instead of a deposit, under Section 83.491. It is optional for the tenant, and you can switch to a regular deposit later. It replaces the ordinary deposit; it is not a charge for an animal.
Are service dogs treated the same way?
Yes. Florida Statute 413.08 separately says a person using a service animal may not be required to pay extra compensation for it in housing, with the same responsibility for damage.
Related Florida Renting Guides
General information for Florida renters, current as of September 2026, based on Florida Statutes 760.27, 413.08, 83.49 and 83.491. It is not legal advice; a lease dispute with money at stake is worth a conversation with a Florida attorney or legal aid office. An evaluation can end without documentation. In a crisis, call or text 988.
Before You Pay Another Pet Fee
Take the free screening and find out whether a Florida evaluation fits your situation.
