The following state list shows the amount of time a landlord has to return a tenant’s security deposit after the tenant leaves. It also shows the amount that can be collected for a security deposit.
More specific details on your state’s procedures for returning security deposits can be found in your state’s landlord-tenant statutes or through your local apartment association.
Each state has security deposit laws and those laws vary widely regarding what’s covered by the security deposit, how the deposit must be handled once collected, what documentation is required of landlords in order to retain money from the deposit, as well as time lines for when the deposit must be returned.
Unfortunately, all too many landlords are unaware of their state’s laws, thus, placing themselves at great risk for potentially costly penalties, fines, suits and legal fees.