Can a Florida Landlord Require an Extra Deposit Based on a Dismissed Case?

Attorney Answer

A landlord generally can factor a background check into deposit decisions, but you have specific rights if that background check turned out to be inaccurate or outdated, and those rights are worth using here.

Florida law does not cap how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit, and landlords generally have broad discretion in setting move-in conditions, including requiring an extra deposit based on a tenant screening result. Simply disagreeing with how the community weighed a screening result is not, by itself, enough to make the deposit requirement unlawful.

However, if the community used a third-party tenant screening or background check company, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you real tools here. Since the case was dismissed, and you have court records proving it, you have the right to dispute inaccurate or outdated information directly with the screening company that prepared the report, and that company is required to reinvestigate and correct its file. Separately, because the deposit requirement is an adverse action based on that report, FCRA requires the community to give you an adverse action notice identifying which screening company provided the report, along with your right to a free copy of it and your right to dispute what is inaccurate.

There is also a fair housing angle worth knowing about. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued guidance cautioning that blanket policies treating arrests or dismissed charges the same as convictions can raise concerns under the Fair Housing Act, since dismissed cases are not proof that anything happened. This guidance encourages individualized review rather than automatic penalties, though it is not an absolute rule, and proving a violation usually requires more than one person's experience.

What to do: - Formally submit your dismissal records in writing to the leasing office and request they update or correct the screening result, and ask for a written response. - Ask specifically which screening company provided the report, and request your free copy along with the reason for the adverse action, which they are required to give you under FCRA. - File a dispute directly with that screening company, since federal law requires them to investigate. - If the community will not budge, consider contacting Florida legal aid or a fair housing organization, since they may handle this at low or no cost.

Because this involves both federal screening law and how this specific community's leasing policy is written, a local Florida attorney or legal aid office can review your paperwork and tell you the strongest next step. This is general legal information, not legal advice, and a local lawyer can advise on your specific situation.