How to Fire Your Property Manager in Florida

A step-by-step guide for Florida landlords switching property managers, covering broker escrow rules, what to demand back, moving tenant deposits and who may manage rentals for pay.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Slow repairs, a statement that never adds up, a tenant who calls you instead of them. Most Florida owners wait a season too long to make the call.

Florida gives you less of a built-in deadline than some states. There is no statute telling a broker to hand everything back inside 30 days. What you do have is a strict escrow regime under chapter 475 and the real estate commission rules, plus a state agency that takes complaints seriously.

Here is how to switch without losing a deposit, a tenant or a month of rent.

Step 1. Read the management agreement

Your contract sets the exit. Look for four things.

Notice period. Thirty days' written notice is common.
Termination fee. Some charge one, some do not.
Leasing fee clawbacks. Check what you owe for tenants they placed.
Who claims the tenant. Some agreements try to bill you if you keep a tenant they found.

If the manager broke the agreement, by ignoring repairs or mishandling money, you may have grounds to end it early. That is a question for a Florida attorney.

Step 2. Send written notice

Send it by email and by whatever method the agreement names. State the end date, demand a full handover by that date, and list what you expect back.

Keep it flat and factual. You want your records and your money, not a fight.

Step 3. Know the trust account rules behind your money

Almost every paid Florida property manager is a licensed broker or works under one. That puts your rent and your tenants' deposits inside the broker's escrow.

Escrow is not optional. A broker who fails to immediately place entrusted money in an escrow or trust account at a Florida bank, credit union, savings and loan or title company commits a disciplinable offense (Fla. Stat. § 475.25(1)(k)). "Immediately" has a defined meaning, the end of the third business day after receipt, with weekends and legal holidays left out (Rule 61J2-14.008, F.A.C.).

The broker signs on the account. The broker has to be a signatory on every escrow account (Rule 61J2-14.010(1), F.A.C.). A broker may park up to $5,000 of brokerage money in a property management escrow account, and no more (Rule 61J2-14.010(2), F.A.C.).

There is a monthly reconciliation. Every month the broker prepares, reviews, signs and dates a written statement reconciling total trust liability against the reconciled bank balance, itemising each deposit held, its date and its source (Rule 61J2-14.012(2), F.A.C.). Ask for the last twelve.

They have to account and deliver. A broker who fails to account for or deliver money, documents, leases or other property at the agreed time, or on demand where no time is fixed, faces discipline (§ 475.25(1)(d)1). That is the hook when the handover stalls.

They keep records for five years. Brokerage records run five years from the date funds were received (§ 475.5015). Missing paperwork is not a good enough answer.

If the deadline passes and your money is still sitting somewhere, file a complaint with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which staffs the Florida Real Estate Commission.

Step 4. Collect everything

Demand all of this before the end date.

Security deposits and advance rent for every tenant, with the amount held for each
The escrow ledger and monthly reconciliations showing rent collected, fees taken and the balance owed to you
Signed leases, renewals, addenda and any email notice addendum under § 83.505
Copies of the § 83.49(2) deposit notices sent to each tenant
Tenant contact details and full payment history
Open work orders, vendor contacts, invoices and warranties
Keys, fobs, gate remotes, alarm and lockbox codes
Year-to-date income and expense reports for your taxes

Step 5. Move the tenant deposits

Once the deposits land with you, Florida's deposit law applies to you directly. Hold the total in a separate non-interest-bearing account at a Florida financial institution, hold it in a separate interest-bearing account paying the tenant at least 75 percent of the annualized average rate or 5 percent simple interest, or post a surety bond (§ 83.49(1)). Never mix it with your own money (§ 83.49(1)(a)).

Then tell each tenant in writing within 30 days where the money now sits, naming the depository or the bond, and whether interest is owed (§ 83.49(2)). That notice carries the required capitalized disclosure (§ 83.49(2)(d)). Landlords renting fewer than five dwelling units are outside that subsection, though sending the notice anyway costs nothing and heads off an argument later.

Diary the move-out clocks too. Fifteen days to return a deposit you are not claiming against, thirty days to send a written claim by certified mail or email (§ 83.49(3)(a)). Miss the thirty and you forfeit the claim.

Step 6. Tell your tenants

Tenants want three answers. Where rent goes now, who to call for repairs, and whether the deposit is safe. Send one dated message covering all three, with the date the change takes effect.

If you plan to use email for legal notices, get the signed addendum under § 83.505. Without it, notices go by mail, hand delivery or posting.

Step 7. Take over the day to day

Line up plumbers and HVAC before hurricane season, not during it. Set up rent collection. Get a maintenance line that answers at 2am. This is the step where owners quietly drift back to the manager they just fired.

Who may manage property for pay in Florida

Renting or offering to rent real property of another for compensation is brokerage activity, and it needs a license (§ 475.01(1)(a)). Doing it without one is a third-degree felony (§ 475.42(1)(a)).

Owners handling their own property are exempt (§ 475.011). So are salaried employees of an owner, or of the owner's registered broker, working in an onsite apartment rental office in a leasing capacity, and salaried managers of condominium or cooperative complexes handling rentals of a year or less.

Hiring a replacement means checking the license first on the DBPR licensee search.

Your switching checklist

Read the agreement for notice, fees and clawbacks
Send written notice naming an end date
Demand the escrow ledger and the last twelve monthly reconciliations
Collect deposits, leases, tenant ledgers, work orders and keys
Move deposits into a compliant account and notify every tenant in writing
Tell tenants where rent goes and who handles repairs
File with DBPR if the money or records do not come back

Switch to Taz

Taz is an AI property manager built for owners who have been let down before. It answers tenants day and night, routes repairs to your vendors, chases rent and keeps every record in one place, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your management agreement and your specific facts matter. Talk to a Florida attorney before ending a contract. Last checked September 2026.