Florida Security Deposit Rules for Rental Owners
The §83.49 text from the owner's side: the three lawful ways to hold the money, the 30-day disclosure and its fewer-than-five-units carve-out, and the two move-out clocks.
Guides
Practical articles on infrastructure, costs, financing and Central Florida areas — written for the international investor, with every figure sourced.
The §83.49 text from the owner's side: the three lawful ways to hold the money, the 30-day disclosure and its fewer-than-five-units carve-out, and the two move-out clocks.
An annual lease of an Osceola County house sits inside Part II of chapter 83, which applies to the rental of a dwelling unit; a vacation rental is a classification of public lodging establishment under chapter 509. What separates them, and the order in which zoning, license and tax are verified.
What the IRS publishes about renting out a Florida property as a nonresident owner: the 30% default where the income is not effectively connected, the IRC 871(d) election, Form W-8 ECI, Form 1040-NR and what the IRS says about filing more than 16 months late. Federal material only, and general information rather than tax advice.
Licensing, deposit deadlines, notice periods, entry rules, the annual-versus-vacation-rental split, and US tax basics for foreign owners — a Kissimmee property management guide with every deadline quoted to the current statute, plus the questions to ask a prospective manager.
First issue for Lake County: county development-code amendments and Clermont land-use filings, each linked to its official agenda.
Our monthly, verified digest of what's moving through the agendas in Polk County, Lake Wales and Haines City: FLUM amendments, rezonings and hearings — each linked to its official agenda.
Our monthly, verified digest of what's moving through the agendas in Osceola County — Kissimmee, St. Cloud and the county: rezonings, FLUM changes and hearings, each linked to its official agenda.
Written from local knowledge: how the US 27 retail-and-rooftops boom marching south through Davenport and Haines City reaches lakeside Dundee — and the FDOT study corridor now in its path. Dated and sourced.
How Florida property tax works for buyers who live out of state or abroad — millage and assessed value, why a second home gets no homestead exemption, and when the TRIM notice and tax bill arrive.
Central Florida is inland, but hurricane-season exposure is real, not zero — a property owner's guide to season dates, preparation, wind-versus-flood insurance, and what a management company handles.
What Lake Nona's Medical City is, which institutions anchor it, and why a concentration of large employers matters for annual-rental demand — framed conservatively as a driver, not a promise.
Why new construction appeals to out-of-state and international buyers, and how the process differs from a resale — from who works for whom at the model home to design centers, inspections, warranties, and closing.
Orlando set a record 76.7 million-visitor year in 2025 — but the growth was entirely domestic; here is what the tourism record does, and does not, tell property investors.
You can legally close on a Florida property from abroad: how power of attorney and remote online notarization work, and where the real friction points are.
A closing-to-first-guest walkthrough of what it takes to set up an Orlando vacation rental — furnishing, the DBPR license, county tourist-tax registration, photography and the listing itself.
A connectivity-focused map of the roads, expressways and rail lines reshaping the Orlando metro in 2026 — what's being built, where, and at what documented stage, without any claim about property values.
A factual, side-by-side comparison of Kissimmee (Osceola County) and Davenport (northeast Polk / Four Corners) for short-term rental buyers — county lines, Tourist Development Tax, price bands, and zoning posture.
Gross bookings are not net income. Here is an honest, line-by-line look at what it really costs an overseas owner to run a short-term rental in the Orlando metro.