My girlfriend was transferred 50 miles away out of the county; I am unemployed. We couldn't afford to keep the current home, so we asked to break our lease, after living there for 3 years. Until the Landlords gave their consent, we didn't sign any paperwork. Upon the walk-thru, they stated that everything was in great condition, even praising us. They never made any claim on our security deposit, orally or in writing; we actually gave them more than 30 days to respond, and several opportunities to notify us of any intents to make a claim. When they ducked our phone calls, we sent them a form citing FL 83.49, requesting our deposit be returned. When we reached them again, they denied our request, on the basis that nobody had rented the home because of the condition we had left it. We understand everyone's financial situation is precarious, but we feel they have no basis for denying our deposit, since they left it so long.
