Getting Your Security Deposit Back

• Deadline: 21 calendar days after you move out, with an itemized statement and the balance.
• Maximum deposit: one month's rent, or two months for small landlords, for deposits since July 1, 2024.
• Receipts or a work description must come with the statement, unless repair and cleaning deductions are $125 or less. You can still ask for them within 14 days.
• Photos: landlords must take them when you return possession and after repairs, and before tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025.
• If you paid electronically, the deposit generally comes back electronically, since January 1, 2026.
• A lease can't call a deposit nonrefundable.

• Deadline: 30 days after the tenancy ends, with an itemized written accounting and any balance.
• Maximum: three months' rent, counting any deposit, surety bond and last month's rent together.
• Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear, and reasonable cleaning.
• A deposit can't be called nonrefundable, apart from a reasonable cleaning charge.

A court can award up to twice the deposit in bad-faith cases, on top of actual damages. The landlord has to prove the amounts are reasonable.

A landlord who fails or refuses to return the balance within 30 days can owe the entire deposit, plus up to the entire deposit again, depending on good faith and the harm to you.