Almost all residential leases include the requirement that the tenant pay a security deposit to the landlord. A security deposit typically does not cover “normal wear and tear”. A security deposit can cover such items as holes in the wall, broken windows or blinds, excessive dirt or debris, damage to appliances, broken doors or locks, excessive carpet stains, mold, mildew and a host of other potential items. However, retaining all or part of a security deposit is governed by Florida Law. Unbeknownst to many tenants, a landlord must go through a series of steps in order to have the right to even make a claim against a security deposit. Sadly, landlords frequently take advantage of unknowing tenants, naïve to their rights, and wrongly retain security deposits. Wedderburn & Jacobs, P.A. has been practicing real estate litigation since 1990 and has been recovering security deposits for tenants for the past 25 years. The good news, most security deposit cases require no payment of attorney’s fees or costs due to the fact that Florida Statutes provide that a tenant’s legal fees be paid by the wrongful landlord, should the tenant prevail.