Before You Sign: What a Florida Assisted Living Contract Has to Tell You

By Orlando Senior Advisor Care Team · October 25, 2026

The document families skim at the worst possible moment

Most Central Florida families sign an assisted living residency agreement in a week they would rather forget — after a fall, after an AdventHealth or Orlando Health discharge planner has given them 48 hours' notice, with a parent's belongings already in the car. The contract gets signed in a marketing office, unread.

That is unfortunate, because Florida gives families more protection in that document than almost anywhere else in the process. Section 429.24 of the Florida Statutes and Rule 59A-36.018 of the Florida Administrative Code both set out what an assisted living facility must put in writing, and a surprising number of the disputes we see later — a rate jump, a withheld deposit, a charge nobody mentioned on the tour — are already answered on page three.

The facility must offer the contract for signature before or at admission, and the resident or their legal representative must get a copy of the signed version. If a community will not hand over a blank copy to read before move-in day, that refusal is itself the answer to your question about the community.

Rate increases: 30 days, with one real loophole

The contract must provide for at least 30 days' written notice before any rate increase. In an Orlando market where assisted living commonly runs $3,400 to $5,400 a month, that notice period is the only thing standing between a family's budget and a surprise, so confirm the clause is actually there rather than assuming it.

Here is the loophole worth understanding: the 30-day notice applies to increases in what the resident is already being charged. A new service or accommodation the resident was not previously charged for does not require that notice. In practice this is how a bill climbs without a formal rate increase — a parent is reassessed, moves from a level-one to a level-three care tier, and the added charge lands without a 30-day letter. Ask directly how care levels are priced, what triggers a reassessment, and what the jump between tiers costs in dollars.

Two related rules help. The facility cannot add charges for anything the standard rate already covers, and any additional charges must be itemized in writing and given to the family in advance. If the contract points to a separate fee schedule, that schedule must be attached. Added services later require a dated addendum signed by both the facility and the resident or representative — so a verbal "we'll just add that on" is not how it is supposed to work.

Deposits and refunds: the 45-day rule and the triple-damages penalty

Advance rent and security deposits are not the facility's money. Florida requires those funds be held in a Florida bank, in the facility's own community where possible, kept separate from facility funds, excluded from the facility's assets, and used only for that resident's account. Within 30 days of taking the money, the licensee must tell the resident in writing how it is held and give the depository's name and address. The contract itself must state the purpose of any advance payment and the refund policy that applies to it.

On the way out, the refund is prorated on the daily rate for the unused portion, after legitimate charges including damage beyond normal wear. The termination date is the day the unit is vacated and cleared of personal belongings — which is why leaving furniture behind for a few weeks can quietly cost a family real money. The facility may charge to clear and store belongings at actual cost, capped at 20% of the regular unit rate, and only after 14 days' advance written notice; possessions unclaimed after 45 days may be disposed of.

The deadline matters most: the refund is due within 45 days after transfer, discharge, or death. If a facility pays late or does not comply, AHCA imposes a fine of three times the amount owed, with half going to the resident or their estate. Families rarely know this, and it is the single most useful sentence to have in hand when a refund is six weeks overdue. If the facility intends to make a claim against the refund, it must give written notice and allow at least 14 calendar days to respond.

A resident also cannot be required to give more than 30 days' notice to terminate. One exception to watch for: communities with 60 or more apartments may elect to use the landlord-tenant refund and termination rules in part II of chapter 83 instead, under which the lease ends automatically and without financial penalty on death or on relocation for medical or psychiatric reasons. Several larger Orange and Seminole County campuses operate this way, so ask which framework applies.

Four clauses to read before you sign

First, the bed hold policy. The contract must spell it out, including how a bed hold agreement ends if your parent is admitted to a nursing home, hospital, or psychiatric facility. If the facility agrees to hold the bed, the agreed daily rate can keep running — and the family is responsible for telling the facility when something changes that prevents a return. In a region where hospital stays and rehab transfers are common, this is the clause that generates the most unexpected bills.

Second, the services list. The contract must specifically set out the services, supplies, and accommodations provided, including any limited nursing or extended congregate care the resident is electing. Third, the medication policies — self-administration, assisted self-administration, and full administration are three different things in Florida, priced and staffed differently. Fourth, the DNR policy: the contract must address how the facility handles a properly executed DH Form 1896.

Also expect language on assessments — required at admission and at least every three years, or after a significant change — plus notice that your parent must arrange a transfer if they come to need services the facility is not licensed to provide, and disclosure of any religious affiliation.

If a contract is missing these pieces, that is a licensing problem, not a negotiating position. Take an hour with the document, write your questions in the margin, and ask them before the deposit changes hands. A free local advisor can read a residency agreement alongside you and flag how a specific Orlando-area community prices its care tiers — which is usually where the real cost lives.

Talk to a free Central Florida advisor →