When you move out, your landlord can't sit on your security deposit. Every state sets a legal deadline — most within 10 to 30 days — to either return your deposit in full or mail an itemized list of any deductions. Of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions (50 states plus Washington, D.C.), 38 require it back within 30 days, and 31 let you recover extra money — often double or triple the amount withheld — when a landlord misses the deadline or keeps your money in bad faith.
Deadlines & penalties verified against each state's official statute publisher
Deposit-return rules are set state by state. Pick yours to see the exact deadline, the cap on what a landlord can hold, and the penalty for missing it — each value drawn straight from that state's statute.
Pick your state and we'll show the exact deadline your landlord has to return your deposit — plus the cap on what they could charge and the penalty if they miss it.
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We flag a deposit collected over your state's legal cap, a return deadline the lease tries to stretch, missing interest, and deductions the law doesn't allow.
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Every state name links to that state's full tenant-rights guide. Deadlines, caps, and penalties are shown exactly as each state's statute sets them — nothing here is paraphrased or estimated.
| State | Max deposit | Return deadline | Interest required | Penalty for late / wrongful return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 1 month's rent (exceptions for pets, alterations, or increased liability; § 35-9A-201) | 60 days | Not required | If the landlord fails to mail a timely refund or itemized accounting within 60 days, the landlord must pay the tenant double the amount of the tenant's original deposit (§ 35-9A-201(f)). |
| Alaska | 2 months' rent (no statutory limit if rent exceeds $2,000/month) | 14 days (proper termination notice given and no damage deductions); 30 days if damages are deducted or tenant gave no proper notice | Not required | Tenant may recover up to double the deposit amount. |
| American Samoa | 1 month's rent | 30 days | Not required | Tenant may recover deposit through High Court of American Samoa under A.S.C.A. tit. 37. Limited specific landlord-tenant statutes; general contract principles apply. |
| Arizona | 1.5 months' rent | 14 business days | Not required | Landlord who wrongfully withholds may owe up to double the deposit amount. |
| Arkansas | 2 months' rent (subchapter applies only where the landlord — counting units owned individually or collectively with spouse, minor children, and entities they control — owns 6 or more dwelling units; landlords with 5 or fewer units are exempt UNLESS the units are managed, including rent collection, by a paid third party; Ark. Code §§ 18-16-303, 18-16-304) | 60 days (same applicability: exempts landlords owning 5 or fewer dwelling units unless a paid third party manages/collects rent; Ark. Code §§ 18-16-303, 18-16-305) | Not required | Tenant may recover the property and money due, damages equal to two (2) times the amount wrongfully withheld, costs, and reasonable attorney's fees (Ark. Code § 18-16-306). Liability is limited to costs plus the sum erroneously withheld if the landlord proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the noncompliance resulted from an error despite procedures reasonably designed to avoid it, or from a good-faith dispute as to the amount due. |
| California | 1 month's rent (2 months for small landlords with ≤2 properties/≤4 units; AB 12, July 2024) | 21 days | Not requiredSome local jurisdictions (e.g., San Francisco, Los Angeles, West Hollywood) require interest payments. | Tenant may sue for up to twice the deposit amount in bad faith cases, plus actual damages. |
| Colorado | 2 months' rent (C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5, effective Aug 7, 2023) | 30 days (unless lease specifies up to 60 days) | Not required | Landlord may owe up to triple the wrongfully withheld amount. |
| Connecticut | 2 months' rent (1 month for tenants 62+) | 21 days after termination, or 15 days after the tenant provides a forwarding address, whichever is later | RequiredAnnual interest required at a rate equal to the average rate on savings accounts at commercial banks. | Landlord may owe double the deposit amount if not returned within deadline. |
| Delaware | 1 month's rent (no limit for month-to-month leases) | 20 days | Not required | Landlord forfeits the right to withhold any portion plus may owe double the amount withheld. |
| District of Columbia | 1 month's rent | 45 days | RequiredInterest required at the prevailing passbook savings rate. | Landlord may owe triple the deposit amount plus attorney fees. |
| Florida | No statutory limit | 15 days (no deductions) or 30 days (with deductions and itemized notice) | RequiredLandlord must either hold deposit in a separate non-interest-bearing account, OR in an interest-bearing account paying tenant at least 75% of the annualized average rate or 5% simple interest per year, whichever the landlord elects; alternatively the landlord may post a surety bond and pay tenant 5% simple interest per year. Interest must be paid or credited at least annually (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1)(b), (1)(c), (9)). | Landlord who fails to give timely notice of deductions forfeits the right to make a claim. |
| Georgia | 2 months' rent (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1, effective July 1, 2024, for residential leases entered into or renewed on or after that date) | 30 days | Not required | Landlord may be liable for up to three times the deposit amount wrongfully withheld, plus attorney fees. |
| Guam | 1 month's rent | 30 days | Not required | Tenant may recover deposit through Superior Court of Guam under 21 Guam Code Ann. § 42101 et seq. Federal Fair Housing Act protections also apply. |
| Hawaii | 1 month's rent (or 1 month's rent as security deposit plus an additional 1 month for pet deposit) | 14 days | Not required | Landlord who wrongfully retains deposit may owe up to three times the amount wrongfully withheld. |
| Idaho | No statutory limit | 21 days (or up to 30 if specified in lease) | Not required | Tenant may recover up to three times the deposit if landlord acts in bad faith. |
| Illinois | No statutory limit | 45 days for full return; if withholding for damage, landlord must furnish an itemized statement of damages (with paid receipts) within 30 days of the tenant vacating the premises, or within 30 days of the end of the tenant's right of possession, whichever is later (765 ILCS 710/1, buildings with 5+ units). | RequiredRequired for properties with 25+ units in some local ordinances; Chicago requires interest on all deposits. | Tenant may recover up to double the deposit amount plus attorney fees (varies by local ordinance). |
| Indiana | No statutory limit | 45 days | Not required | Landlord who fails to return deposit or provide itemized statement may owe full deposit amount plus attorney fees. |
| Iowa | 2 months' rent | 30 days | Not requiredInterest-bearing accounts are permitted but not required (Iowa Code 562A.12(2)). Any interest earned on a rental deposit during the first 5 years of a tenancy is the landlord's property; interest earned after the first 5 years of the same tenancy accrues to the tenant. | Failure to provide the required written statement within 30 days forfeits all rights to withhold any portion of the deposit (Iowa Code § 562A.12(4)); bad-faith retention subjects the landlord to punitive damages not to exceed twice the monthly rental payment, in addition to actual damages (§ 562A.12(7)). |
| Kansas | 1 month's rent (unfurnished); 1.5 months' rent (furnished) | 30 days | Not required | Landlord may owe 1.5 times the wrongfully withheld amount. |
| Kentucky | No statutory limit | No fixed statutory deadline (KRS 383.580): itemized list required; landlord may apply the deposit to a rent debt after 30 days if the tenant does not demand it, or keep an unclaimed refund after 60 days if the tenant cannot be reached | Not required | Tenant may recover the full deposit plus damages of the deposit amount if landlord acts in bad faith. |
| Louisiana | No statutory limit | 30 days | Not required | Willful failure to return the deposit lets the tenant recover the portion wrongfully retained plus $300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained, whichever is greater (La. R.S. 9:3252). Failure to remit within 30 days after written demand for a refund constitutes willful failure. |
| Maine | 2 months' rent | 30 days for written leases; 21 days for tenancy-at-will | Not required | Landlord who wrongfully withholds may owe double the amount withheld. |
| Maryland | 1 month's rent (effective Oct. 1, 2024; pre-Oct-2024 leases keep the prior 2-month cap, and a 2-month deposit is allowed only under the narrow DHS-utility-assistance exception) | 45 days | RequiredLandlord must pay simple interest at the greater of the daily U.S. Treasury yield curve rate for 1 year (as of the first business day of each year) or 1.5% per year, on security deposits of $50 or more held for at least 6 months (MD Real Property § 8-203(e)(1)). Interest accrues at monthly intervals from the day the tenant gives the landlord the security deposit and is not compounded. | Landlord may owe up to three times the deposit amount plus attorney fees. |
| Massachusetts | 1 month's rent | 30 days | RequiredAnnual interest at 5% or the actual bank rate, whichever is less, paid annually or deducted from rent. | Landlord may owe triple the deposit amount plus 5% interest, court costs, and attorney fees. |
| Michigan | 1.5 months' rent | 30 days | Not required | Landlord may owe double the amount wrongfully withheld. |
| Minnesota | No statutory limit | 21 days (with deductions) or 3 weeks (no deductions) | RequiredSimple noncompounded interest at 1% per annum, computed from the first day of the next month following full payment of the deposit until the landlord returns it; interest amounts less than $1 are excluded. | Tenant may recover up to double the deposit amount if landlord acts in bad faith. |
| Mississippi | No statutory limit | 45 days | Not required | Bad-faith retention of the deposit may subject the landlord to actual damages plus statutory damages not to exceed $200 (Miss. Code § 89-8-21(4)). The deposit balance must be returned within 45 days of the tenant vacating. |
| Missouri | 2 months' rent | 30 days | Not required | Landlord who wrongfully withholds may owe up to double the amount withheld. |
| Montana | No statutory limit (but must be reasonable based on potential damage) | 10 days (if no deductions); 30 days (if deductions made) | Not required | Tenant may recover full deposit amount if landlord fails to return or provide itemized list. |
| Nebraska | 1 month's rent (no pets); 1.25 months' rent (with pets) | 14 days | Not required | Tenant may recover the full deposit if landlord fails to provide itemized statement within 14 days. |
| Nevada | 3 months' rent | 30 days | Not required | Tenant may recover damages equal to the entire deposit, plus an additional court-fixed sum of up to the entire deposit amount (up to 2x the deposit total), if the landlord fails to return it within 30 days. |
| New Hampshire | 1 month's rent or $100, whichever is greater | 30 days | RequiredInterest must be paid when the deposit is held for 1 year or longer, at the rate paid on regular savings accounts at the New Hampshire bank, savings and loan association, or credit union where the deposit is held (RSA 540-A:6, IV). A tenant may request accrued interest every 3 years. | Landlord may owe double the deposit amount. |
| New Jersey | 1.5 months' rent | 30 days after lease termination (5 business days if the tenant is displaced by fire, flood, condemnation, or evacuation; 15 business days if the lease terminates under the Safe Housing Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8-9.6, for domestic violence) | RequiredAnnual interest required; must be held in an interest-bearing account or invested in a money market fund. | Landlord may owe the deposit plus interest, plus up to double the amount wrongfully withheld. |
| New Mexico | 1 month's rent (less than 1-year lease); no limit (1-year+ lease) | 30 days | RequiredConditional: applies only under an annual (one-year-or-longer) rental agreement. If the owner demands or receives a deposit greater than one month's rent on such a lease, the owner must pay the resident annually interest equal to the passbook interest permitted to savings and loan associations in this state by the federal home loan bank board on the deposit. Rental agreements of less than one year are capped at one month's rent and carry no interest requirement (NMSA 1978 § 47-8-18(A)). | Tenant may recover the full deposit plus damages if landlord acts in bad faith. |
| New York | 1 month's rent | 14 days | RequiredInterest required for buildings with 6+ units; landlord may retain 1% per year as administrative fee. | Tenant may sue for return of deposit plus damages; landlord who fails to provide itemized deductions forfeits right to retain any portion. |
| North Carolina | 2 weeks' rent (week-to-week); 1.5 months' rent (month-to-month); 2 months' rent (longer term) | 30 days | Not requiredIf held in a trust account, landlord must disclose the account information to the tenant. | Tenant may recover the full deposit if landlord fails to account for the deposit within 30 days. |
| North Dakota | 1 month's rent (up to 2 months' rent for a tenant convicted of a felony, or against whom a judgment has been entered for violating a previous rental agreement; pet deposit may not exceed the greater of $2,500 or 2 months' rent) | 30 days | RequiredLandlord must hold the deposit in a federally insured interest-bearing savings or checking account for the tenant's benefit; the actual interest accruing on the account is paid to the tenant at lease termination. No statutory interest rate is set. No interest is owed if the period of occupancy was less than 9 months. | Landlord must deliver an itemized statement and any amount due within 30 days after lease termination; landlord is liable for treble damages for any security deposit withheld without reasonable justification. |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1 month's rent | 30 days | Not required | Tenant may recover deposit through CNMI Superior Court under 2 CMC § 4901 et seq. Federal Fair Housing Act protections also apply. |
| Ohio | No statutory limit | 30 days | RequiredInterest at 5% annually required on deposits exceeding $50 or 1 month's rent, for tenancies lasting 6+ months. | Tenant may recover the deposit plus damages and attorney fees. |
| Oklahoma | No statutory limit | 45 days | Not required | Tenant may recover the security deposit, prepaid rent, and damages if the landlord fails to comply (41 O.S. § 115(E)) — Oklahoma has no civil double-damages remedy. The "twice the amount" figure is a criminal penalty for misappropriating escrowed deposit funds: up to 6 months in county jail and a fine not to exceed twice the amount misappropriated (41 O.S. § 115(A)). |
| Oregon | No statutory limit (must be reasonable) | 31 days | Not required | Landlord may owe up to double the deposit amount if they act in bad faith. |
| Pennsylvania | 2 months' rent (first year); 1 month's rent (subsequent years) | 30 days | RequiredInterest required after 2 years of tenancy; tenant entitled to the interest earned minus 1% admin fee. | Landlord who fails to return within 30 days may owe double the amount due. |
| Puerto Rico | 1 month's rent | 30 days | Not required | Tenant may recover deposit plus damages through desahucio proceedings under Código Civil de Puerto Rico (31 LPRA). All evictions require judicial process. |
| Rhode Island | 1 month's rent (plus a separate furniture security deposit of up to 1 month's rent for furnished units where the landlord-supplied furniture has a replacement value of $5,000 or more at lease execution) | 20 days | Not required | Landlord who wrongfully withholds may owe double the deposit amount. |
| South Carolina | No statutory limit | 30 days | Not required | Tenant may recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees; no bad-faith showing is required (S.C. Code § 27-40-410(b)). |
| South Dakota | 1 month's rent (greater amounts allowed if special conditions exist) | 14 days (2 weeks) | Not required | Landlord who fails to comply forfeits all rights to withhold any portion of the deposit; bad-faith retention (including failure to provide the required written statement and itemized accounting) subjects the landlord to punitive damages not to exceed $200. |
| Tennessee | No statutory limit | No fixed statutory deadline in days to return the deposit. To retain any portion, the landlord must deposit it in a separate account and provide a listing of damages (Tenn. Code § 66-28-301(a)-(c)). Upon the tenant's request, a mutual move-out inspection is held and a signed damage listing compiled; the landlord must give notice of the inspection right within 5 days of the tenant's notice to vacate, with inspection on or within 4 days of vacating (§ 66-28-301(b)). If a refund is due, the landlord notifies the tenant's last known address; the deposit is forfeited only if the tenant fails to respond within 60 days of that notice (§ 66-28-301(f)). Damage claims are limited to damage discovered before the earlier of 30 days after the tenant vacates or 7 days after a new tenant takes possession (§ 66-28-301(g)). | Not required | Tenant may recover deposit amount if landlord fails to return or provide itemized statement. |
| Texas | No statutory limit | 30 days | Not required | Landlord may owe up to three times the deposit amount wrongfully withheld, plus $100 and attorney fees. |
| US Virgin Islands | 1 month's rent | 30 days | Not required | Tenant may recover deposit through Territorial Court under 28 V.I.C. § 781 et seq. Federal Fair Housing Act protections also apply. |
| Utah | No statutory limit | 30 days | Not required | If the landlord still fails to return the deposit within 5 business days after the renter serves the statutory deposit-disposition notice, the renter may recover the full deposit, the full prepaid rent, and a $100 civil penalty (Utah Code § 57-17-5); court costs and attorney fees are awarded to the prevailing party only if the court finds the opposing party acted in bad faith. |
| Vermont | No statutory limit | 14 days | Not required | Tenant may recover double the deposit if landlord wrongfully withholds. |
| Virginia | 2 months' rent | 45 days | Not required | Landlord may owe the full deposit plus actual damages and attorney fees if they fail to return within 45 days. |
| Washington | No statutory limit | 30 days | Not required | Landlord may owe up to double the deposit amount if they fail to return or provide an itemized statement. |
| West Virginia | No statutory limit | 60 days after termination of tenancy, or 45 days after a new tenant occupies the premises, whichever is shorter | Not required | Tenant may recover the deposit plus damages if landlord fails to return within required timeframe. |
| Wisconsin | No statutory limit | 21 days | Not required | Tenant may recover double the amount wrongfully withheld, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees, under Wis. Stat. § 100.20(5) for a violation of ATCP 134.06; no bad-faith showing required. |
| Wyoming | No statutory limit | 30 days after termination, or 15 days after the landlord receives the renter's new mailing address, whichever is later (extended an additional 30 days, up to 60, if there is damage to the rental unit) | Not required | Tenant may recover the full deposit if landlord fails to provide itemized statement. |
Return deadlines and penalties can change with whether the landlord deducts for damage, and local ordinances may add stricter rules. “No statutory limit” means the state sets no fixed deposit ceiling. Verified July 2, 2026against each state's official statute publisher.
In most states the countdown begins the day your tenancy ends and you give up possession — sometimes only once you provide a forwarding address. Before the deadline, the landlord has to either return your full deposit or send an itemized statement of every deduction, usually with receipts. Silence is not an option: a landlord who neither pays nor accounts for the money by the deadline is the one who has broken the rule, and many states treat that failure as forfeiting the right to keep any of it.
A landlord can deduct for unpaid rent and for damage beyond ordinary use — a broken window, a stained carpet, a hole in the wall. They cannot bill you for normal wear and tear: faded paint, worn carpet traffic lanes, minor scuffs, or the routine cleaning a unit needs between tenants. Cleaning and repair charges have to be reasonable and documented. If your itemized statement lists vague “cleaning fees,” charges for wear and tear, or deductions the lease never disclosed, those are exactly the amounts a demand letter — and, if needed, small-claims court — can recover.
Each state sets its own deadline, most commonly 10 to 30 days after you move out, and up to 383 days in a few states. The clock — and whether the landlord may deduct for damage — depends on the state. Select your state above or find it in the table for the exact rule.
Start with a written demand that cites your state's return deadline and the penalty for missing it; keep proof you sent it. If the landlord still won't pay, most deposit disputes are resolved in small-claims court. Honestkey™ scans your lease against your state's deposit law and, on a paid plan, generates a demand letter you can send.
No. Normal wear and tear — faded paint, minor carpet wear, small nail holes — is the cost of doing business and generally can't be deducted. A landlord may only deduct for damage beyond ordinary use, unpaid rent, or other charges the lease and state law actually allow, and most states require an itemized statement.
In 31 of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions, a tenant can recover more than just the deposit when a landlord withholds it in bad faith or blows the deadline — frequently double or triple the wrongfully withheld amount, plus attorney fees. The exact penalty appears in the "Penalty for late / wrongful return" column for your state.
No. There is no federal statute setting deposit limits, return deadlines, or penalties — these are governed entirely by state, and sometimes city, law. That is why the deadline and penalty vary so much across the 51 jurisdictions in the table.
No. Honestkey™ provides informational lease analysis, not legal advice, and is not a law firm. We check your lease against your state's published deposit statute and flag potential issues so you can act — for advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.
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