Florida Notice of Termination of Month-to-Month Tenancy

To end a month-to-month tenancy in Florida, either the landlord or the tenant must deliver a written notice at least 30 days before the end of a monthly rental period, and the tenancy ends on the last day of that period. No reason has to be given. A Florida notice of termination of a month-to-month tenancy is simply a dated, signed letter identifying the parties, the property, and the termination date, delivered in a way you can later prove.¹

How the 30-Day Timing Actually Works

The statute requires at least 30 days’ notice “prior to the end of any monthly period.”¹ The tenancy does not end 30 days from the date you hand over the notice. It ends at the close of the next monthly period that falls at least 30 full days after delivery.

Say rent is due on the first, so each monthly period runs from the 1st to the last day of the month. Deliver the notice on March 1 and the tenancy ends March 31. Deliver it on March 2 and you no longer have 30 full days before March 31; the end date pushes to April 30, and rent is owed for all of April. Missing the deadline by a single day costs a full extra month. It is the most common and most expensive mistake with these notices.

This article covers month-to-month tenancies, meaning any rental with no fixed duration where rent is paid monthly.² Weekly tenancies require only 7 days’ notice, and yearly tenancies require 60.¹

What to Put in the Notice

Florida does not require a government form. Any written document works as long as it clearly communicates the termination. Include:

The full names of the landlord and the tenant.
The complete street address of the rental unit.
The termination date, which must be the last day of a monthly period at least 30 days after delivery.
The signature of the party sending the notice.

Simple wording is enough. Something along the lines of “This letter serves as notice that the month-to-month tenancy at [address] will terminate on [date]” does the job. There is no legal requirement to state a reason.

How to Deliver It

Florida law lets you mail the notice, hand-deliver it, send it by email if the rental agreement allows electronic communication under Florida Statute 83.505, or leave a copy at the residence if the tenant is not home.³

Regular mail is technically sufficient, but proving delivery becomes difficult if the other side later claims they never received it. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you a signed record showing when the notice arrived. For hand delivery, consider having a witness present or getting a written acknowledgment of receipt. The statute allows leaving a copy at the residence when the tenant is absent; it does not require posting on the door or any particular placement.

If the Tenant Does Not Leave

A tenant who stays past the termination date without permission becomes a holdover. The landlord has two remedies and can pursue both at once. The landlord can file a removal action in county court for a possession order; the filing fee is $185.⁴ The landlord can also recover double the normal rent for every day the tenant refuses to surrender the unit.⁵

The double-rent penalty runs for the entire holdover period. If rent is $1,800 a month, holding over two weeks can add roughly $1,800 in penalties on top of what is otherwise owed.

Security Deposit After Move-Out

Once the tenant moves out, the landlord has 15 days to return the full deposit if no deductions will be made.⁶ To withhold any portion, the landlord must send a written notice by certified mail within 30 days of the tenant vacating, describing the specific damages claimed and the dollar amount.

The tenant then has 15 days to send a written objection. If the tenant does not object, the landlord can deduct the claimed amount and must return any balance within 30 days of the original claim notice.⁶ A landlord who misses the 30-day deadline to send the claim notice forfeits the right to deduct, though a later lawsuit for actual damages remains possible.

Tenants should give a forwarding address in writing before or at move-out. The claim notice goes to the last known mailing address, and a tenant who never receives it because no forwarding address was provided may lose the chance to dispute deductions.

When a Termination Is Not Allowed

A landlord cannot use a termination notice to retaliate against a tenant for exercising a legal right. Protected activities include reporting code violations to a government agency, participating in a tenant organization, requesting repairs under the landlord-tenant statute, exercising fair housing rights, and terminating a prior lease under military protections.⁷

Retaliation is a defense the tenant can raise in an eviction proceeding, and a notice sent shortly after a tenant files a housing complaint can support a retaliation claim based on timing alone. The protection has limits: a landlord can still terminate for good cause such as nonpayment of rent or a genuine lease violation, even after protected activity.⁷ Federal law adds that threatening or interfering with anyone exercising fair housing rights is independently illegal.⁸

Active-duty servicemembers have a separate path to end a lease early under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act when they receive qualifying military orders, with its own notice and effective-date rules that override state law.⁹ That route is distinct from the ordinary 30-day notice described above.

1
Justia Law. Florida Code 83.57 – Termination of Tenancy Without Specific Term
2
Justia Law. Florida Code 83.46 – Rent; Duration of Tenancies
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 83 – Landlord and Tenant
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 34.041 – Filing Fees
5
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 83.58 – Remedies; Tenant Holding Over
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent; Duty of Landlord and Tenant
7
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 83.64 – Retaliatory Conduct
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3617 – Interference, Coercion, or Intimidation
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases