Security Deposit Rules

Alabama caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent under Ala. Code § 35-9A-201, with exceptions for pets, alterations, and added liability risk. Landlords must return the…

Under Alaska Stat. 34.03.070, a landlord may not collect a security deposit (plus prepaid rent) exceeding two months' rent, unless monthly rent tops $2,000. Deposits must be returned…

Arizona caps security deposits at one and one-half month's rent. After the tenancy ends and the tenant requests it, a landlord has 14 days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) to…

Arkansas caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent under Ark. Code § 18-16-304. The landlord must return the deposit, with an itemized written notice of any deductions…

As of July 1, 2024, California landlords may collect no more than one month's rent as a security deposit, regardless of whether the unit is furnished. The deposit, minus any lawful…

Colorado caps residential security deposits at two months' rent. Landlords must return the deposit, with an itemized written statement of any deductions, within 30 days of lease…

Connecticut caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21, or one month if the tenant is 62 or older. The landlord must return the deposit…

Delaware caps security deposits at one month's rent for leases of one year or more. After a tenancy ends, the landlord has 20 days to return the deposit with an itemized list of…

In Washington, D.C., a landlord may charge no more than one month's rent as a security deposit. Within 45 days after a tenancy ends, the landlord must either return the deposit plus…

Florida places no dollar limit on residential security deposits, but it enforces tight deadlines. If the landlord makes no claim, the deposit must be returned within 15 days of…

Since the 2024 Safe at Home Act (HB 404), Georgia caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1. The landlord must return the deposit, with an…

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. 521-44, a landlord may collect a security deposit of up to one month's rent, plus a separate pet deposit of up to one month's rent. The deposit must be returned…

Idaho sets no statutory limit on how much a landlord may charge for a security deposit. Under Idaho Code 6-321, deposits must be refunded within 21 days, or within a longer agreed…

Illinois sets no statewide cap on residential security deposits. Under the Security Deposit Return Act, 765 ILCS 710, a landlord of a building with 5 or more units who keeps any of a…

Indiana sets no statutory limit on the security deposit amount. Under Indiana Code 32-31-3, a landlord must return the deposit, minus itemized lawful deductions, within 45 days after…

Iowa caps a security deposit at two months' rent. Under Iowa Code 562A.12, a landlord must return the deposit, or a written statement of deductions, within 30 days after the tenancy…

Kansas law (K.S.A. 58-2550) caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent for an unfurnished unit and 1.5 months' rent if furnished, plus up to half a month's rent as a pet…

Kentucky sets no dollar cap on residential security deposits. Where the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies, landlords must hold deposits in a separate account…

Louisiana sets no statutory cap on a residential security deposit. Under La. R.S. 9:3251, the landlord must return the deposit, with an itemized statement of any amounts kept, within…

Maine caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent. A landlord must return the deposit with an itemized statement of any deductions within 30 days under a written lease, or…

Maryland caps most security deposits at one month's rent for leases entered on or after October 1, 2024, down from the old two-month limit. Landlords must return the deposit with…

Massachusetts has one of the nation's strictest security deposit laws. A landlord may collect no more than one month's rent as a security deposit, must hold it in a separate…

Michigan's Landlord-Tenant Act caps a residential security deposit at one and one-half months' rent. A landlord who keeps any of the deposit for damages must mail the tenant an…

Minnesota sets no statutory cap on residential security deposits under Minn. Stat. § 504B.178. The landlord must return the deposit, plus 1% simple interest, within three weeks after…

Mississippi sets no statutory cap on a residential security deposit. Under Miss. Code § 89-8-21, a landlord must return any remaining deposit, with an itemized written notice of any…

Missouri caps residential security deposits at two months' rent. After a tenancy ends, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit or deliver a written itemized list of damages…

Montana sets no statutory limit on the size of a residential security deposit. Under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-25-202, a landlord must return the deposit within 10 days when there are no…

Nebraska caps a security deposit at one month's rent, plus a pet deposit of up to one-fourth of a month's rent. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-1416, a landlord must mail the balance and a…

Nevada caps a residential security deposit, including any surety bond and last month's rent, at three months' periodic rent. After the tenancy ends, the landlord has 30 days to return…

New Hampshire caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater. A landlord must return the deposit, plus any interest due, within 30 days after the…

New Jersey caps a residential security deposit at 1.5 times one month's rent, and any later additional deposit may rise by no more than 10% per year. After a tenancy ends, the landlord…

Under New Mexico's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, a landlord on a lease shorter than one year cannot collect more than one month's rent as a deposit. Annual leases have no fixed…

Since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, New York landlords cannot collect a security deposit larger than one month's rent. Within 14 days after a tenant vacates…

North Carolina caps a residential security deposit by tenancy length under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-51: two weeks' rent for week-to-week, one and one-half months' rent for month-to-month…

North Dakota caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent. Under N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.1, the landlord must hold the deposit in a federally insured interest-bearing…

Ohio sets no statutory cap on residential security deposits under Ohio Rev. Code 5321.16. The landlord must itemize deductions in writing and return the balance within 30 days after…

Oklahoma sets no statutory dollar limit on a residential security deposit, but Okla. Stat. tit. 41 § 115 requires the landlord to keep it in an escrow account. After the tenancy ends…

Oregon sets no dollar cap on residential security deposits, but it tightly controls how they are returned. After the tenancy ends and the tenant gives up possession, the landlord has…

Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent during the first year and one month's rent in the second and later years…

Rhode Island law limits a residential security deposit to one month's periodic rent. After the tenancy ends, the landlord has 20 days to return the deposit and provide an itemized…

South Carolina sets no statutory cap on a residential security deposit. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410, when a tenancy ends the landlord must refund the deposit, less any accrued…

South Dakota caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent (larger by written agreement when special conditions endanger the premises). Under SDCL 43-32-24, the landlord must…

Tennessee sets no statutory cap on security deposits. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301, landlords in counties over 75,000 must hold deposits in a separate account, let the tenant…

Texas places no statutory limit on how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit. However, the landlord must refund the deposit within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the…

Utah sets no statutory cap on how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit. After a tenant moves out, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit and any prepaid rent, with…

Vermont sets no statutory cap on residential security deposits. A landlord must return the deposit with a written statement itemizing any deductions within 14 days after the tenant…

Under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a landlord may not demand a security deposit exceeding two months' rent. After the tenancy ends, the landlord must return the…

Washington sets no dollar cap on residential security deposits, but it controls how they are collected and returned. A landlord may collect a deposit only with a written rental…

West Virginia sets no cap on the amount of a residential security deposit. After a tenancy ends, the landlord must return the deposit, with a written itemization of any damages or…

Wisconsin sets no statutory cap on the amount of a residential security deposit. After a tenancy ends, the landlord must mail or deliver the deposit, less lawful deductions, within 21…

Wyoming sets no statutory limit on a residential security deposit. Under Wyo. Stat. § 1-21-1208, a landlord must return the balance plus a written itemization of deductions within 30…