Florida: Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements
The short answer
Florida's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no statewide application- or screening-fee cap, cost formula, disclosure, receipt, refund, report-copy, or reusable-report rule for an ordinary applicant. The state expressly preempts local regulation of landlord screening, rental applications, and application fees. A narrow exception gives servicemember applicants a seven-day written approval-or-denial deadline and requires the reason for denial.
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This is the general rule in Florida. Ezel applies current Florida law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and coverage | Fla. Stat. ch. 83, pt. II; no general application-fee section. §§ 83.425 and 83.683 govern state preemption and servicemember applications |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | No general statewide provision allowing, banning, or distinguishing application, processing, credit-check, background-check, or screening charges |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | No statewide dollar, actual-cost, customary-cost, household, or indexed ceiling |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | No general statutory rule on permitted screening costs, unit availability, collection timing, or concurrent fees |
| Before-screening disclosures | No general state application-fee or screening disclosure; local screening/application-fee regulation is preempted (§ 83.425) |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | No general state receipt, report-copy, unused-fee, rejection-refund, or unconsidered-application-refund duty |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No reusable-report rule; 2025 HB 43/SB 362 proposals died without enactment |
| Application order and adverse action | Ordinary applicants: no state order or notice rule. Servicemembers: written approval or denial with reason within 7 days; timely silence requires leasing if all other terms are met (§ 83.683) |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | No application-fee-specific state damages formula. State preemption supersedes local rules on screening, rental applications, and associated fees (§ 83.425) |
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What actually governs an application fee in Florida
Florida's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Fla. Stat. ch. 83, part II,
contains no general section fixing an application or screening fee's amount,
cost base, collection timing, disclosure, receipt, refund, report-copy duty, or
reusable-report process. The agreement and ordinary law therefore govern any
charge, without a statewide application-fee formula supplied by part II.
The chapter does address who may regulate the process. Section 83.425 expressly
preempts to the state local regulation of landlord screening, rental-agreement
applications, and fees associated with those applications. A city or county
cannot supply the missing statewide cap or process rule in this field.
What trips people up
A fee in lieu of a security deposit is a different charge. Section 83.491
regulates a recurring or scheduled payment offered instead of a security
deposit. Its disclosures and credit-report language do not create application-
screening fee rules.
Servicemembers have a separate application clock. Under § 83.683, a
landlord must process a servicemember's application within seven days and give
written approval or denial; a denial must state the reason. Without timely
denial, the landlord must lease the unit if all other application and lease
terms are met. That rule does not create a general seven-day deadline for every
applicant.
The reusable-report proposals did not become law. The 2025 Legislature
considered HB 43 and SB 362, but both died. Part II still contains no reusable-
report system.
Common questions
What is the maximum Florida application fee? Part II states no statewide
dollar or cost-based maximum.
Must the landlord refund the fee after denial? No general Florida statute in
part II requires a denial refund, unused-fee refund, or refund for an
unconsidered ordinary application.
Must I receive the screening report? Part II states no general report-copy
duty. Separate federal consumer-reporting law may apply.
Statutes and sources
- Fla. Stat. §§ 83.40-.42 — scope of the Residential Landlord and Tenant
Act.This part shall be known as the “Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant
Act.” ... This part applies to the rental of a dwelling unit.
Official source: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/0083.html (accessed 2026-07-20)
- Fla. Stat. § 83.425 — state preemption.
This section supersedes any local government regulations on matters covered
under this part, including, but not limited to, the screening process used by
a landlord in approving tenancies ... rental agreement applications and fees
associated with such applications ... fees charged by the landlord.
Official source: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/0083.html (accessed 2026-07-20)
- Fla. Stat. § 83.683 — servicemember applications.
the landlord must complete processing of a rental application submitted by
a prospective tenant who is a servicemember ... within 7 days after
submission and must, within that 7-day period, notify the servicemember in
writing of an application approval or denial and, if denied, the reason for
denial.
Official source: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/0083.html (accessed 2026-07-20)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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