Title XL, Real and Personal Property

(1) A notice which is in substantially the following form given to a person who is not the former tenant and whom the landlord reasonably believes to be the owner of any of the abandoned personal property satisfies the requirements of s. 715.104:Notice of Right to Reclaim Abandon…

The personal property described in the notice either shall be left on the vacated premises or be stored by the landlord in a place of safekeeping until the landlord either releases the property pursuant to s. 715.108 or disposes of the property pursuant to s. 715.109. The landlor…

(1) The personal property described in the notice shall be released by the landlord to the former tenant or, at the landlord’s option, to any person reasonably believed by the landlord to be its owner, if such tenant or other person pays the reasonable costs of storage and advert…

(1) If the personal property described in the notice is not released pursuant to s. 715.108, it shall be sold at public sale by competitive bidding. However, if the landlord reasonably believes that the total resale value of the property not released is less than $500, she or he …

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 715.101, after the landlord releases to the former tenant property which remains on the premises after a tenancy is terminated, the landlord is not liable with respect to that property to any person.(2) After the landlord releases property…

(1) Costs of storage for which payment may be required under ss. 715.10-715.111 shall be assessed in the following manner:(a) When a former tenant claims property pursuant to s. 715.108, she or he may be required to pay the reasonable costs of storage for all the personal propert…

(1) This section may be cited as the “Construction Contract Prompt Payment Law.”(2) This section applies only to written contracts to improve real property entered into after December 31, 1992, and for which a construction lien is authorized under part I of chapter 713.(3) The te…

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state, while protecting the interests of the owners thereof, to possess all unclaimed and abandoned money and property for the benefit of all the people of the state, and this law shall be liberally construed to accomplish such purpos…

All property within the provisions of subsections (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5), are declared to have escheated, or to escheat, including all principal and interest accruing thereon, and to have become the property of the state.(1) All money or other property which has remained in, …

When there exists, or may exist, escheated funds or property under this chapter, the Department of Financial Services shall demand or institute proceedings in the name of the state for an adjudication that an escheat to the state of such funds or property has occurred; and shall …

Whenever the Department of Financial Services is of the opinion an escheat has occurred, or shall occur, of any money or other property deposited in the custody of, or under the control of, any court of the United States, in and for any district within the state, or in the custod…

When any funds or property which has escheated within the meaning of this chapter has been recovered by the Department of Financial Services, the department shall first pay all costs incident to the collection and recovery of such funds or property and shall promptly deposit the …

All records in the office of the Chief Financial Officer or the Department of Financial Services relating to federal funds, pursuant to this chapter, shall be public records.History.—s. 6, ch. 24333, 1947; ss. 12, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1885, ch. 2003-261.

(1) Any person who claims any property, funds, or money delivered to the Treasurer or Chief Financial Officer under this chapter, shall, within 5 years from the date of receipt of such property, funds, or money, file a verified claim with the Chief Financial Officer, setting fort…

This chapter may be cited as the “Florida Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property Act.”History.—s. 1, ch. 87-105; s. 34, ch. 2026-174.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Abandoned property” means property held by a holder for which all of the following are true:(a) The apparent owner has shown no activity or indication of interest for the duration of the applicable dormancy perio…

(1) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, all intangible property, including any income or increment thereon less any lawful charges, that is held, issued, or owing in the ordinary course of the holder’s business and for which the apparent owner or authorized representati…

Unless otherwise provided in this chapter or by other statute of this state, intangible property is subject to the custody of the department as abandoned property when the conditions leading to a presumption that the property is abandoned as described in ss. 717.102 and 717.105-7…

(1) Subject to subsection (4), any sum payable on a traveler’s check that has been outstanding for more than 15 years after its issuance is presumed abandoned unless the apparent owner or authorized representative, within 15 years, has demonstrated a continued interest in the pro…

Notwithstanding s. 717.117, an unredeemed gift certificate or credit memo as defined in s. 501.95 is not required to be reported as abandoned property.(1) The consideration paid for an unredeemed gift certificate or credit memo is the property of the issuer of the unredeemed gift…

(1) Any sum payable on a check, draft, or similar instrument, except those subject to ss. 717.104 and 717.115, on which a banking or financial organization is directly liable, including, but not limited to, a cashier’s check or a certified check, which has been outstanding for mo…

(1) Any demand, savings, or matured time deposit with a banking or financial organization, including deposits that are automatically renewable, and any funds paid toward the purchase of shares, a mutual investment certificate, or any other interest in a banking or financial organ…

(1) Any virtual currency held or owing by a banking organization, corporation, custodian, exchange, or other entity engaged in virtual currency business activity is presumed unclaimed unless the owner, within 7 years, has communicated in writing with the banking organization, cor…

(1) Funds held or owing under any life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract which has matured or terminated are presumed abandoned if unclaimed for more than 5 years after the date of death of the insured, the annuitant, or the retained asset account holder, but prop…

(1) Property distributable in the course of a demutualization, rehabilitation, or related reorganization of an insurance company is deemed abandoned 2 years after the date the property is first distributable if, at the time of the first distribution, the last known address of the…

Any deposit, including any interest thereon, made by a subscriber with a utility to secure payment or any sum paid in advance for utility services to be furnished, less any lawful charges, that remains unclaimed by the apparent owner for more than 1 year after termination of the …

Except as otherwise provided by law, any sum that a business association has been ordered to refund by a court or administrative agency which has been unclaimed by the apparent owner for more than 1 year after it became payable in accordance with the final determination or order …

(1)(a) Stock, other equity interests, or debt of a business association is presumed abandoned on the date of the earliest of any of the following:1. Three years after the date a communication, other than communications required by s. 717.117, sent by the holder by first-class Uni…

All intangible property distributable in the course of a voluntary or involuntary dissolution of a business association which is not claimed by the apparent owner for more than 6 months after the date specified for final distribution is presumed abandoned.History.—s. 12, ch. 87-1…

(1) All intangible property and any income or increment thereon held in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person, including property held by an attorney in fact or an agent, except as provided in ss. 717.1125 and 733.816, is presumed abandoned unless the apparent ow…

All intangible property and any income or increment thereon held in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person under a trust instrument is presumed abandoned unless the apparent owner has, within 2 years after it has become payable or distributable, increased or decre…

All intangible property held for the apparent owner by any court, government or governmental subdivision or agency, public corporation, or public authority that has not been claimed by the apparent owner for more than 1 year after it became payable or distributable is presumed ab…

Unpaid wages, including wages represented by unpresented payroll checks, owing in the ordinary course of the holder’s business that have not been claimed by the apparent owner for more than 1 year after becoming payable are presumed abandoned.History.—s. 16, ch. 87-105; s. 15, ch…

All tangible and intangible property held by a banking or financial organization in a safe-deposit box or any other safekeeping repository in this state in the ordinary course of the holder’s business, and proceeds resulting from the sale of the property permitted by law, that ha…

(1) Property is presumed abandoned upon expiration of the applicable dormancy period under this chapter. However, such property is not deemed abandoned for purposes of reporting or remittance to the department until the holder has conducted reasonable due diligence as required by…

(1) It is specifically recognized that the state has an obligation to make an effort to notify apparent owners in a cost-effective manner that their abandoned property has been reported and remitted to the department. In order to provide all the citizens of this state an effectiv…

(1) Every person who is required to file a report under s. 717.117 shall simultaneously pay or deliver to the department all abandoned property required to be reported. Such payment or delivery shall accompany the report as required in this chapter for the preceding calendar year…

(1) Upon the good faith payment or delivery of abandoned property to the department, the state assumes custody and responsibility for the safekeeping of the property. Any person who pays or delivers abandoned property to the department in good faith is relieved of all liability t…

Whenever property other than money is paid or delivered to the department under this chapter, the owner is entitled to receive from the department any dividends, interest, or other increments realized or accruing on the property at or before liquidation or conversion thereof into…

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2)(a), the department after the receipt of abandoned property shall sell it to the highest bidder at public sale on the Internet or at a specified physical location wherever in the judgment of the department the most favorable market for the p…

(1) All funds received under this chapter, including the proceeds from the sale of abandoned property under s. 717.122, shall immediately be deposited by the department in the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund. The department shall retain, from funds received under this chapter, an a…

Abandoned funds reported in the name of a campaign for public office, for any campaign that must dispose of surplus funds in its campaign account pursuant to s. 106.141, after being reported to the department, shall be deposited with the Chief Financial Officer to the credit of t…

(1) Any person, excluding another state, claiming an interest in any property paid or delivered to the department under this chapter may file with the department a claim on a form prescribed by the department and verified by the claimant or the claimant representative. The claima…

(1)(a) If an abandoned demand, savings, or checking account in a financial institution is reported as an “and” account in the name of two or more persons who are not beneficiaries, it is presumed that each person must claim the account in order for the claim to be approved by the…

(1)(a) Claims on behalf of an active or dissolved corporation, for which the last annual report is not available from the Department of State through the Internet, must be accompanied by a microfiche copy of the records on file with the Department of State or, if the corporation …

An estate or any person representing an estate or acting on behalf of an estate may claim abandoned property only after the heir or legatee of the decedent entitled to the property has been located. Any estate, or any person representing an estate or acting on behalf of an estate…