---
pretty_name: "Security deposit return deadlines by US state — the statutory clock a landlord has to return a tenant's deposit, quoted from the state statute"
license: other
license_name: source-terms-cited
license_link: https://referencesource.org/security-deposit-return-deadlines-by-state/
language:
- en
tags:
- reference-data
- provenance
- referencesource-org
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- config_name: default
  data_files:
  - split: train
    path: data/records.jsonl
---
# Security deposit return deadlines by US state — the statutory clock a landlord has to return a tenant's deposit, quoted from the state statute

**Canonical, always-current version: https://referencesource.org/security-deposit-return-deadlines-by-state/**
Machine-readable: https://referencesource.org/security-deposit-return-deadlines-by-state/data.json — this mirror is a point-in-time copy.

- **Last verified:** 2026-08-26
- **Stale after:** 2027-08-26 (past this date, prefer the canonical copy —
  it re-verifies on a cadence this snapshot does not)
- **Records:** 31

Every state sets a statutory deadline for a landlord to return a tenant's security deposit, or to send an itemized statement of what is being withheld, after the tenancy ends. The number differs by state (14 days in Hawaii and Nebraska, 45 in Maryland and Virginia), and so does the event that starts the clock — some states run it from termination of the tenancy, some from the day the tenant hands back possession, and some from the day the tenant supplies a forwarding address, whichever is later. That trigger is where most comparison charts are silent and where disputes actually start. Each record is one state, with the deadline exactly as the statute prints it, the clause that starts the clock, any second deadline the same section sets and the condition it applies under, and the statute citation, each backed by a verbatim quote from the state's own statute site. 31 states so far; a state is here only where its own legislature or code revisor serves the section as readable text. Answers 'how long does my landlord have to return my deposit in [state]' and 'which states give landlords the longest to return a deposit'.

## Provenance — what every record carries

Every record carries `source` (the URL the value was read from) and
`source_quote` (a verbatim quote from that page stating it). A value you
cannot check against its page is indistinguishable from an invented one;
these can all be checked. Each record is also individually addressable on
the canonical site at its `url`.

## Licence position

unknown

Facts are not copyrightable; what this dataset takes from each source is a
fact plus a short attributed quote linking back to the page that states it.

## Sources

- https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01321.htm
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1950.5.&lawCode=CIV
- https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-38.pdf
- https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_831.htm
- https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c055/index.html
- http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html
- https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0044.htm
- https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH3/SECT6-321/
- https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2202&ChapterID=62
- https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/562A.12.pdf
- https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch58/058_025_0050.html
- https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec6033.html
- https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp&section=8-203&enactments=false
- https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleI/Chapter186/Section15B
- https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-554-609
- https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/504B.178
- https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=535.300
- https://archive.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0250/part_0020/section_0020/0700-0250-0020-0020.html
- https://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=76-1416
- https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-118A.html
- https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-7.htm
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_42/GS_42-52.html
- https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf
- https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5321.16
- https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors090.html
- https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-19.htm
- https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t27c040.php
- https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/09/137/04461
- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter12/section55.1-1226/
- https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.280
- https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf

## Fields

See any record in `data/records.jsonl` — field names are self-describing,
and the canonical page for each record renders them with labels:
https://referencesource.org/security-deposit-return-deadlines-by-state/