Pick your state, enter the rent: the statutory maximum deposit, the return deadline and the statute that says so — from the same rules engine as our lease generator.
$2,200
maximum security deposit in California (1 month of rent)
21 days
return deadline after move-out
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5
statute
Capped at 1 month's rent since AB 12 (eff. July 1, 2024); small landlords owning 2 or fewer properties may charge up to 2 months. Read the full California deposit guide →
The short answer
There is no national limit. Roughly half of US jurisdictions cap the security deposit at somewhere between one and three months' rent; the rest leave the amount to the lease. Almost all of them, capped or not, set a hard deadline to return it after move-out.
The cap is the number people look up. The deadline is the one that costs them money.
The cap covers more than the line marked "security deposit"
This is the trap that catches small landlords in every state that has a cap. The limit generally applies to everything you collect and hold as security against the tenancy, regardless of the label:
A last month's rent held in reserve rather than applied to a month
A pet deposit — as opposed to a non-refundable pet fee, which is treated differently in some states and not permitted in others
A key deposit or a fob deposit
A cleaning deposit, where it is refundable
Add those up before you compare against your state's ceiling. Renaming a charge does not move it outside the cap, and a landlord who took one month as a deposit plus one month as last month's rent in a one-month state has usually taken twice what they were allowed.
Recent changes that older sources still get wrong
Two of the largest rental markets in the country tightened their caps recently, and a great deal of published material has not caught up:
California has been capped at one month's rent since AB 12 took effect on 1 July 2024, with a narrow exception for small landlords owning two or fewer properties.
New York has been capped at one month's rent since the HSTPA in 2019.
The checker above uses the current statutes. If you find a figure elsewhere that contradicts it, check the date on the page you are reading before you trust it.
The deadline is the expensive part
Return deadlines across US jurisdictions run from about two weeks to two months from the end of the tenancy. Missing one is the most expensive avoidable mistake in residential letting, because the penalty usually has nothing to do with whether your deductions were fair.
In many states, a landlord who misses the deadline forfeits the right to keep anything — including for damage that genuinely occurred — and can additionally owe statutory damages, often a multiple of the amount withheld, plus the tenant's legal fees. You can be entirely right about the damage and still lose, because you were late.
Two things have to be finished by the deadline, not started: the money you are returning, and the itemised written statement of everything you are keeping. A lump sum labelled "damages" is not an itemisation.
What you can actually deduct
Three categories, in essentially every state: unpaid rent, unpaid utilities you are liable for, and damage beyond normal wear and tear.
Normal wear and tear is never deductible. Sun-faded paint, carpet worn along the path from the door to the sofa, small nail holes and loosened hinges are the cost of owning a property that someone lived in. The practical test a judge applies is whether the condition resulted from living in the unit or from abusing it.
Which means the deduction is won or lost long before move-out. A dated move-in checklist with photographs of every room, signed by both sides, turns an argument into a comparison. Without one, you assert the damage is new, the tenant asserts it was always there, and the party holding the document wins.
Frequently asked
How much security deposit can a landlord charge?
It depends on the state. Around half of US jurisdictions cap it at between one and three months' rent — one month in California, New York and Massachusetts, two in Maryland and North Carolina, three in Nevada — and the rest set no statutory ceiling. Use the checker above for your state, and remember that the cap counts everything you hold as security, not only the amount labelled security deposit.
Is a pet deposit included in the security deposit cap?
In most capped states, yes — a refundable pet deposit is security and counts towards the limit. A genuinely non-refundable pet fee is treated differently in some states and is not permitted at all in others. Check your state's rule before charging one, because getting it wrong converts the fee into an over-cap deposit.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit?
Deadlines run from roughly two weeks to two months depending on the state, measured from the end of the tenancy. The checker shows your state's figure. Both the refund and the itemised statement of deductions have to be complete by that date.
What happens if the deposit is not returned on time?
In many states the landlord loses the right to withhold anything at all, regardless of actual damage, and can owe additional statutory damages — frequently a multiple of the amount wrongly withheld — plus the tenant's legal costs. It is the one mistake in this area where being factually right about the damage does not save you.
Can I charge last month's rent as well as a deposit?
In a state with no cap, generally yes. In a capped state, usually not on top — last month's rent held in reserve is normally counted as part of the security you are holding, so a one-month cap means one month in total. Add everything you are holding together and compare that figure against the cap.
Do I have to pay interest on a security deposit?
In some states and many cities, yes, and some also require the deposit to sit in a separate escrow account. Massachusetts and New Jersey are well-known examples, and city ordinances in places like Chicago add their own requirements. Read your state's statute — linked from your state guide — and your local ordinance.
Free to use, no account needed. Estimates and general information only — not financial, tax or legal advice.