What Can I Do If a Florida Home Seller Won't Sign My Escrow Deposit Cancellation?
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed January 1, 2026
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
I sent an escrow deposit for a house, and now I want to cancel, but the seller will not sign the cancellation notice.
Attorney Answer
Whether you get your escrow deposit back usually depends less on whether the seller signs a release and more on whether your purchase contract gave you a legal right to cancel when you did, so start there before anything else.
Most Florida home purchase contracts, including the standard FAR/BAR contract many buyers and sellers use, include specific windows where a buyer can cancel and get the deposit back, such as during an inspection or due diligence period, or if financing falls through under a financing contingency. If you canceled within one of those windows and followed your contract's notice requirements, you generally have a right to the deposit back even though the seller is refusing to cooperate. If you canceled outside any contingency period or without a contract-based reason, the seller may argue you are in default, which changes the picture significantly, since many contracts let a seller keep the deposit as liquidated damages in that situation.
When a buyer and seller disagree about who gets a disputed deposit, the party holding the money, usually a title company, broker, or attorney acting as escrow agent, cannot just release funds to either side on its own. If a licensed real estate broker holds the deposit, Florida law under Florida Statute 475.25 generally requires the broker to notify the Florida Real Estate Commission of the dispute and resolve it through the parties' written agreement, mediation, arbitration, or a court action called interpleader, rather than picking a side. Many contracts also have their own mediation or arbitration clause for exactly this kind of disagreement.
What to do now 1. Reread your contract's cancellation and default provisions carefully, including any deadlines for the inspection or financing period. 2. Gather your written cancellation notice and proof of when you sent it. 3. Contact the escrow agent, whether a title company or broker, to ask what dispute process they follow when a release is not signed. 4. Do not let time pass silently. Ask in writing that the dispute be sent to mediation or another resolution process if the seller keeps refusing to sign.
This is general legal information, not legal advice. A local Florida real estate attorney can review your contract and tell you whether you have a right to the deposit and how to move the dispute forward.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can the seller just keep my escrow deposit if they refuse to sign?
Not automatically. The escrow agent generally cannot release funds to either side without written agreement from both parties, a court order, or another resolution process, so a refusal to sign creates a standoff rather than an automatic forfeiture.
What is an interpleader action?
It is a lawsuit an escrow agent can file when both the buyer and seller claim the same deposit, asking a court to decide who is entitled to the money. It is often used after mediation or arbitration has not resolved the dispute.
Does it matter why I want to cancel the contract?
Yes, significantly. If you canceled during a contract-defined window like an inspection or financing period, you likely have a stronger claim to the deposit than if you canceled without a contractual basis, which the seller could treat as a default.
