Large Corporate Landlord sent Final Move-Out Statement with a $0 balance and a refund, but left off the Early Lease Break Fee. Am I legally in the clear? If not, will I ever be?
Location: Florida
Hey everyone, looking for some legal insight on a Florida lease situation.
I broke my apartment lease early. My lease included a standard Florida Statute § 83.595 Early Termination Addendum. I had selected "Choice 1," which states that if I break the lease, I agree to pay a liquidated damages/early termination fee capped at 2 months' rent. Under Choice 1, the landlord also explicitly waives the right to seek future monthly rent.
I officially moved out, handed over keys, and just received my official "Notice of Intention to Impose Claim on Security Deposit" alongside my final account paperwork.
Instead of charging me the liquidated early termination fee, the corporate landlord's official notice only claims a small, minor amount from my security deposit specifically for final utilities and minor damages. My online resident portal dashboard officially shows an account balance of $0.00 due, and the automated email explicitly states that a net deposit refund is being processed to my bank account shortly. They completely omitted the early termination fee on all final paperwork.
I am completely fine with the small utility/damage deductions they listed, so I plan to let the 15-day statutory objection window pass silently so they process my remaining deposit refund.
My question is: By issuing a definitive final statement and a statutory security deposit claim that completely excludes the early termination fee, has the landlord legally waived their right to collect it? Can they realize their clerical mistake weeks from now and try to send me a separate bill or route it to collections, or does this official final statement seal the ledger under Florida law?