Security deposit limits are set by each state, not federal law. Of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions (50 states plus Washington, D.C.), 30 cap the deposit — commonly at one or two months' rent — while 21 set no statutory ceiling. 13 require the landlord to pay interest on the money held. Return deadlines typically run from 10 to 60 days.
The table below lists every state's maximum deposit, return deadline, whether interest is required, and the penalty for a late or wrongful return — each value drawn from that state's statute.
Last updated · Verified against each state's official statute publisher
Every state name links to that state's full tenant-rights guide. Values are shown exactly as each state's statute sets them.
| 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), plus a pet deposit up to 1 month's rent (AS 34.03.070(h)) | 14 days (proper termination notice given and no damage deductions); 30 days if damages are deducted or tenant gave no proper notice | Not required | If the landlord willfully fails to send the itemized notice and refund on time, the tenant may recover up to twice the amount actually withheld, not twice the whole deposit (AS 34.03.070(b), (d), (g)). |
| American Samoa | No statutory limit | No statutory deadline | Not required | American Samoa's code sets no residential security-deposit rules — no cap, no return deadline, and no statutory penalty. Deposits are governed by the lease and general contract principles, enforced in the High Court of American Samoa. The code's tenancy chapter (A.S.C.A. tit. 43, ch. 14) covers eviction procedure only. Federal Fair Housing Act protections still apply. |
| Arizona | 1.5 months' rent | 14 business days after the tenancy ends, possession is returned and the tenant asks for the deposit | Not required | Landlord who wrongfully withholds may owe up to double the deposit amount. |
| Arkansas | 2 months' periodic rent, unless the landlord is exempt (Ark. Code §§ 18-16-303, 18-16-304) | 60 days after the tenancy ends (Ark. Code § 18-16-305, as amended by Act 559 of 2009) | 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. None of the deposit rules, including this remedy, apply to dwelling units owned by an individual who, with a spouse, minor children and their rental entities, owns five or fewer dwelling units, except units managed (including rent collection) by a paid third party (Ark. Code § 18-16-303). |
| California | 1 month's rent (2 months only for a natural-person or family-LLC landlord with no more than 2 properties and 4 units, never for a service member; Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)) | 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), plus a separate pet deposit up to $300 (§ 38-12-106) | 30 days after the lease ends or the unit is surrendered, whichever is later (a lease may set 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 | RequiredInterest on every deposit at no less than the deposit index the Banking Commissioner sets each year, paid or credited toward rent on each anniversary of the tenancy; if the tenancy ends before an anniversary, accrued interest is due within 21 days (C.G.S. § 47a-21(i)). | Landlord may owe double the deposit amount if not returned within deadline. |
| Delaware | 1 month's rent for leases of 1 year or more and for month-to-month tenancies after the first year; no cap for furnished units; pet deposit up to 1 month's rent (25 Del. C. § 5514) | 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 after the tenancy ends; if the landlord sends written notice of withholding within 45 days, the balance is due 30 days after that notice | RequiredInterest at not less than the bank's statement savings rate (reset each January 1 and July 1), paid when a tenancy of 12 months or more ends (14 DCMR § 311). | Not meeting the 45-day and 30-day steps is prima facie evidence that the tenant is entitled to the full deposit with interest (14 DCMR § 309.3). The landlord is liable for the amount withheld, and for treble (triple) damages only if the refusal was in bad faith — a frivolous or unfounded refusal motivated by a fraudulent, deceptive, misleading, dishonest or unreasonably self-serving purpose, not simple negligence, bad judgment or an honest belief (14 DCMR § 309.5). The Rent Administrator, Rental Housing Commission or a court may award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party (D.C. Code § 42-3509.02). |
| Florida | No statutory limit | 15 days after the lease ends if nothing is kept; to keep part, written notice of the claim within 30 days and the balance within 30 days after that notice | Not requiredInterest is owed only if the landlord holds the deposit in an interest-bearing account (at least 75% of the rate or 5% simple) or posts a surety bond (5% simple); a separate non-interest-bearing Florida account is also allowed (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1)). | 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 after the landlord gets possession of the unit back, with a written statement of the reasons for anything kept (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34) | Not required | Three times the sum improperly withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees, or only the sum withheld if the landlord shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the withholding was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error despite procedures reasonably designed to avoid such errors (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-35(c)). A landlord who misses the lists and statements loses the right to keep any of the deposit (§ 44-7-35(b)). Neither applies to a landlord who is a natural person (with spouse and minor children) owning ten or fewer rental units, unless a third person manages the units, including rent collection, for a fee (§ 44-7-36); the 30-day return deadline in § 44-7-34 still applies to that landlord. |
| Guam | 1 month's rent (plus a reasonable pet deposit up to $500 per pet; landlord may not collect more than first month's rent and the deposit at lease signing) | 14 days (working days — weekends and Guam government holidays excluded) | Not required | Landlord must give written reasons for any retention, itemized and with receipts attached (21 GCA § 48201(b)). A wrongful and willful failure to return exposes the landlord to up to three times the deposit; a wrongful retention, to the deposit plus costs (§ 48201(e)). Tenant has one year from termination to sue (§ 48201(d)). 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 | A tenant may sue over a deposit that was not returned as the law requires only after giving the landlord 3 days' written notice listing the failure (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(4), (d)); the court may then enter judgment for three times the tenant's actual damages (Idaho Code § 6-317). |
| 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; applies to all residential landlords since P.A. 103-224, Jan 1, 2024). | RequiredRequired only for a building or complex with 25 or more units, on a deposit held more than 6 months (765 ILCS 715). | Tenant may recover up to double the deposit amount plus attorney fees (varies by local ordinance). |
| Indiana | No statutory limit | 45 days after the rental agreement ends and possession is returned (not owed until the tenant gives a mailing address in writing) | 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 after the tenancy ends and the landlord receives the tenant's mailing address | 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); plus a pet deposit up to half a month's rent | 30 days at most after the tenancy ends, possession is returned and the tenant asks (and within 14 days after the landlord determines deductions) | Not required | Landlord may owe 1.5 times the wrongfully withheld amount. |
| Kentucky | No statutory limit | No fixed statutory deadline. Only where the city or county adopted the landlord-tenant act (KRS 383.580, 383.500): a move-out damage list is required; the landlord may apply the deposit to a rent debt after 30 days if the tenant does not demand it, or keep an unclaimed refund 60 days after sending notice of it | Not required | No statutory multiplier. Only where the city or county adopted the landlord-tenant act: a landlord who skipped the separate deposit account and the signed damage lists may keep none of the deposit (KRS 383.580(4)), and a tenant may dispute the final damage list in District Court (KRS 383.580(5)). |
| Louisiana | No statutory limit | 30 days (one month) after the tenancy ends; an itemized statement of anything kept may follow up to 15 days later (Act 63 of 2026, eff. Aug 1, 2026); not when the tenant abandons the unit | 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; up to two months only under the narrow DHS-utility-assistance exception, Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(b); worded 'two months' because scan validation reads the first 'N month' figure) | 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. | If the landlord, without a reasonable basis, fails to return any part of the deposit plus accrued interest within 45 days after the tenancy ends, the tenant may sue for up to three times the amount withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(e)(4)). A deposit above the legal cap is recoverable at up to three times the extra amount charged (§ 8-203(b)(3)). |
| 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 after move-out for an itemized list of damages with the balance (the tenant must give a forwarding address within 4 days) | Not required | Landlord may owe double the amount wrongfully withheld. |
| Minnesota | No statutory limit | 21 days after the tenancy ends and the landlord receives the tenant's mailing address (5 days if the building was condemned) | 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. | Penalty with no bad faith needed, so recovery can reach double the amount withheld: a landlord who misses the 3-week deadline (5 days if the tenant left because the building was condemned) to return the deposit or send the written statement, after receiving the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions, owes the amount wrongfully withheld plus interest AND, as a penalty, an amount equal to the portion withheld plus interest (Minn. Stat. § 504B.178, subd. 4). Bad-faith retention adds punitive damages of up to $500 per deposit, presumed if the deadline was missed unless the deposit is returned within two weeks after the tenant sues (subd. 7). |
| Mississippi | No statutory limit | 45 days after the tenancy ends, possession is returned and the tenant asks for the deposit | 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 balance must be returned within 45 days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered and the tenant demands it (§ 89-8-21(3)). |
| Missouri | 2 months' rent | 30 days | Not required | Landlord who wrongfully withholds may owe up to double the amount withheld. |
| Montana | No statutory limit | 10 days if nothing is owed and the tenant shows no unpaid utilities; 30 days otherwise | Not required | A landlord who does not give the tenant the written list of rent due and damage and cleaning charges within 30 days after the tenancy ends forfeits the right to withhold for damage and cleaning charges (MCA 70-25-203). A person who wrongfully withholds any part of the deposit owes the tenant the amount wrongfully withheld, and the court may award attorney fees to the prevailing party (MCA 70-25-204). |
| Nebraska | 1 month's rent (no pets); 1.25 months' rent (with pets) | 14 days | Not required | If the landlord does not return the balance and a written itemization within 14 days, the tenant may recover the property and money due, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(3)). If the failure is willful and not in good faith, the tenant may also recover liquidated damages equal to one month's periodic rent or 2x the deposit, whichever is less. |
| Nevada | 3 months' rent, counting last month's rent and any surety bond (NRS 118A.242(1)) | 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 after the tenancy ends (these deposit rules do not reach an owner of a single-family home with no other rental property, or of an owner-occupied building of 5 units or less, except a unit occupied by someone 60 or older) | 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 after the rental agreement ends or the tenant leaves, whichever is later | 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)). | If the owner does not give the resident the itemized statement of deductions and the balance within 30 days, the owner forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit, loses any counterclaim in an action to recover it and any independent action for damage to the rental property, and owes the resident court costs and reasonable attorney's fees; no bad faith is needed (NMSA 1978 § 47-8-18(D)). An owner who retains a deposit in bad faith also owes the resident a $250 civil penalty (§ 47-8-18(E)). |
| New York | 1 month's rent (exceptions for registered seasonal rentals, owner-occupied co-ops and some regulated or senior housing; Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)) | 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 after the tenancy ends and possession is returned (final accounting up to 60 days if damages cannot be determined sooner) | Not requiredIf held in a trust account, landlord must disclose the account information to the tenant. | If the landlord does not account for and refund the deposit as required, the tenant may sue for the accounting and the balance of the deposit, plus damages from the noncompliance. A willful failure to comply with the deposit, bond or notice requirements voids the landlord's right to keep any part of the deposit, and the court may award attorney's fees for willful noncompliance (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-55). |
| 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 | No statutory limit | 10 business days (likely — see notes) | Not required | No CNMI statute caps a private residential deposit. A general business-regulation law, 4 CMC § 5171, requires businesses that take a security deposit as a condition of renting or leasing property to refund the balance within ten business days, with a court fine of up to $1,000 per violation (§ 5173). That law sits outside the landlord-tenant chapters and no CNMI court has yet applied it to a residential landlord, so treat the ten days as a strong argument rather than a settled deadline. Enforced in the CNMI Superior Court. Federal Fair Housing Act protections also apply. |
| Ohio | No statutory limit | 30 days | Required5% a year, but only on the part of the deposit above $50 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, and only when the tenant stays 6 months or more. A deposit at or under one month's rent earns no interest (ORC 5321.16(A)). | Tenant may recover the deposit plus damages and attorney fees. |
| Oklahoma | No statutory limit | 45 days after the tenancy ends, possession is returned and the tenant asks in writing (a deposit not asked for within 6 months goes to the landlord) | 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 | 31 days | Not required | If the landlord does not return the deposit, or the part it does not claim, within 31 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession, the tenant may recover twice the amount withheld without a written accounting; bad faith does not have to be shown. Separately, if the landlord in bad faith keeps money that is due, the tenant may recover twice the amount withheld in bad faith (ORS 90.300(12), (13), (16)). |
| Pennsylvania | 2 months' rent (first year); 1 month's rent (subsequent years) | 30 days after the lease ends or the unit is surrendered, whichever comes first | RequiredInterest required after 2 years of tenancy; tenant entitled to the interest earned minus 1% admin fee. | A landlord who misses the 30-day written list of damages forfeits the right to withhold any of the deposit or to sue for damages to the unit; one who does not pay the difference within 30 days owes double the amount by which the deposit exceeds the actual damages, and must prove those damages (68 P.S. § 250.512(b)-(c)). |
| Puerto Rico | No statutory limit | No statutory deadline | Not required | The Código Civil de Puerto Rico de 2020 (Ley 55-2020) sets no security-deposit rules for residential leases — no cap, no return deadline, no interest requirement. The deposit is governed by the lease itself and general civil-law obligations. Eviction (desahucio) always requires judicial process. Federal Fair Housing Act protections also apply. |
| 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 after the latest of the tenancy ending, possession being returned, or the tenant giving a forwarding address | Not required | Landlord who wrongfully withholds may owe double the deposit amount. |
| South Carolina | No statutory limit | 30 days after the tenancy ends and possession is returned, or after the tenant asks, whichever is later | 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) | 21 days after the tenancy ends and the landlord receives the tenant's mailing address (since July 1, 2026; it was 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 (Tenn. Code § 66-28-301, in counties covered by the landlord-tenant act). The deposit must be kept in a separate account at a regulated bank, and the tenant told where. On request, a move-out inspection is held on the day the tenant leaves or within 4 days, with a signed damage list. If a refund is due, the landlord sends notice to the tenant's last known address and may keep the money only if the tenant does not respond within 60 days. Damage found later can be charged only if discovered within 30 days of move-out or 7 days after a new tenant moves in, whichever is earlier. | Not required | A landlord who did not keep the deposit in a separate account and give the damage list may not keep any of it; a tenant can sue over the damage items they disputed in writing (Tenn. Code § 66-28-301). The statute sets no double or triple penalty. |
| Texas | No statutory limit | 30 days after the tenant surrenders the unit, once the tenant has given a forwarding address in writing | Not required | Landlord may owe up to three times the deposit amount wrongfully withheld, plus $100 and attorney fees. |
| US Virgin Islands | No statutory limit | No statutory deadline (see notes for the domestic-violence exception) | Not required | We did not find a Virgin Islands law that caps a residential security deposit or sets a general deadline or penalty for returning it; the lease controls, enforced in the Superior Court. One narrow rule: a tenant who ends a lease early as a domestic-violence victim under 28 V.I.C. § 753 is owed the security deposit back when the lease ends, less damage to the premises not caused by the domestic violence. |
| 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 after the tenant moves out or the landlord learns of it (60 days for a seasonal rental) | Not required | If the landlord does not return the deposit with an itemized statement within the deadline, the landlord loses the right to withhold any part of it; if the failure is willful, the landlord is liable for double the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs (9 V.S.A. § 4461(e)). |
| Virginia | 2 months' rent | 45 days after the tenancy ends or the tenant moves out, whichever is later (15 more days to itemize damage that needs an outside contractor) | 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 | A landlord who misses the 30-day deadline to give a full written statement of the basis for keeping any of the deposit, with documentation, and any refund is liable for the full amount of the deposit and cannot raise any claim or defense for keeping any of it. Two exceptions apply to that bar and to the double award: circumstances beyond the landlord's control prevented a timely statement, or the tenant abandoned the premises. A court may in its discretion award up to two times the deposit for the landlord's intentional refusal to give the statement, documentation or refund, and the prevailing party recovers costs and reasonable attorney's fees (RCW 59.18.280(2)). |
| 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 | If the landlord's noncompliance with the deposit article is willful or not in good faith, the tenant is entitled to a judgment for the unreturned deposit plus damages for annoyance or inconvenience equal to one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld; if the tenant owes rent, that award is credited against the rent due. The section does not limit other rights or remedies of a landlord or tenant under any other law (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-5). |
| Wisconsin | No statutory limit | 21 days after the rental agreement ends if the tenant moves out on that date; if the tenant moves out or is evicted early, 21 days after the agreement's end date or, if the landlord re-rents the unit sooner, after the day the new tenant's tenancy begins; if the tenant moves out or is evicted after the end date, 21 days after the day the landlord learns the tenant has left (Wis. Stat. § 704.28(4); Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.06(2)) | 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 the rental agreement ends, or 15 days after the landlord receives the renter's new mailing address, whichever is later (30 more days if there is damage) | Not required | If the owner unreasonably fails to return the balance or give the written itemization on time (W.S. 1-21-1208(a)), the renter may recover the full deposit and court costs (W.S. 1-21-1208(c)). |
“No statutory limit” means the state sets no fixed deposit ceiling, so the amount is negotiated (and generally must still be reasonable). Return deadlines and penalties can vary with whether the landlord deducts for damage, and local ordinances may add stricter rules. Verified July 2, 2026 against each state's official statute publisher.
Most states cap how much a landlord can collect up front as a security deposit, usually stated as a multiple of the monthly rent — one or two months is the most common ceiling. 21 of the 51 jurisdictions in the table set no statutory maximum at all, leaving the amount to negotiation, though it must typically still be reasonable. Some states allow an extra deposit for pets, furnished units, or higher-risk tenancies. The exact figure — and any exception — appears in the "Max deposit" column for your state.
After you move out, the landlord has a statutory number of days to return the deposit or send an itemized list of any deductions — commonly 14, 21, or 30 days, and up to 60 in a few states. The clock and the exact deadline depend on the state, and often on whether the landlord is keeping any of the money. The "Return deadline" column lists each state's rule; miss it, and many states let the tenant recover extra damages.
13 states and D.C. require the landlord to hold your deposit in a way that pays you interest, often only after the tenancy passes a minimum length. Separately, most states penalize a landlord who wrongfully keeps a deposit — frequently double or triple the amount withheld, plus attorney fees. The "Interest required" and "Penalty for late / wrongful return" columns show each state's rule; local ordinances can add stricter requirements on top.
It depends on the state. Of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions (50 states plus Washington, D.C.), 30 cap the deposit at a set number of months' rent — most often one or two months — while 21 set no statutory limit and leave the amount to what is reasonable and negotiated. Find your state in the table for its exact maximum and any pet or furnished-unit exceptions.
Each state sets its own deadline, commonly 14, 21, or 30 days after you move out, and up to 60 days in a few states. The deadline can also depend on whether the landlord is deducting for damage. Check the "Return deadline" column for your state's exact rule.
In 13 jurisdictions, yes: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania. Many of these only require interest once the deposit has been held for a minimum period, such as six months or a year, and the rate is often tied to a bank or Treasury figure. Everywhere else there is no statutory interest requirement. See the "Interest required" column for the details.
Most states let a tenant recover more than just the deposit when a landlord keeps it in bad faith or misses the return deadline — frequently double or triple the amount wrongfully withheld, plus attorney fees. The exact penalty varies by state and appears in the "Penalty for late / wrongful return" column, along with any deadline that triggers it.
No. There is no federal statute setting security deposit limits, return deadlines, or interest rules — these are governed entirely by state (and sometimes city) law, which is why they vary so widely across the 51 jurisdictions in the table. Federal law only enters through general protections like the Fair Housing Act.
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