What Landlords Typically Charge

In practice most conventional properties ask for one month's rent, sometimes with an additional amount for applicants with weaker credit or rental history, where state law allows it.

Higher deposits show up in a few predictable situations: applicants approved conditionally after a marginal screening report, tenants with pets where a separate pet deposit is permitted, furnished units, and short term or corporate rentals.

Lower or zero deposits are increasingly common in competitive rental markets, usually through a deposit alternative product rather than genuine forgiveness of the obligation.

The State Caps Vary Widely

California moved to one of the tighter limits in the country. Assembly Bill 12 amended the state's deposit statute to cap deposits at one month's rent, furnished or unfurnished, for deposits collected on or after July 1, 2024. A narrow exception lets a small landlord, meaning a natural person or an LLC whose members are all natural persons owning no more than two residential rental properties totaling no more than four units, collect up to two months.

Arizona caps at one and a half months' rent. The statute reaches security "however denominated, including prepaid rent," which is the phrase that matters most.

Virginia caps at two months' periodic rent, again using the "however denominated" language.

Massachusetts limits deposits to one month's rent and layers additional requirements on how the money must be held.

Florida and Texas set no statutory cap on the amount, though both regulate what happens to the deposit afterward.

Because caps change, and because several states amended their statutes recently, look up your own state rather than relying on what was true a few years ago.

The Phrase That Catches Landlords

"However denominated" is doing real work in those statutes, and it is the most common way a landlord accidentally exceeds a cap.

In states using that language, calling money something other than a security deposit does not remove it from the calculation. Last month's rent collected up front, pet deposits, key deposits, cleaning deposits, and similar charges generally count toward the total. A landlord in a one and a half month state who collects a full month's deposit plus last month's rent plus a $400 pet deposit has likely exceeded the limit.

Genuinely non-refundable fees are treated differently in many states, and some states prohibit them outright. Where they are allowed, the lease has to be clear that the charge is non-refundable and what it covers, and a fee that functions as a refundable deposit will be treated as one regardless of the label.

Pet related charges deserve a specific note. Charges tied to a service animal or an assistance animal are generally prohibited under fair housing law, because those are not pets.

The Alternatives

Two structures let a renter avoid a lump sum, and they work differently from each other.

A fee in lieu of a security deposit is a recurring, non-refundable charge the landlord may offer instead of a deposit. Florida authorized this in 2023 with conditions: the landlord cannot use the applicant's choice as a factor in approving the application, must offer the option to all new tenants on the same premises unless it is terminated for everyone, and must give a prescribed disclosure stating in capital letters that the fee is not a deposit and does not absolve the tenant of any obligations.

Damage insurance is the other. Virginia expressly permits a tenant to submit damage insurance coverage instead of a deposit, provided the policy is licensed by the state corporation commission, remains effective for the lease term, and provides coverage equal to the required deposit. Virginia also lets the tenant switch from insurance to paying a full deposit at any time without the landlord's consent, and bars the landlord from changing lease terms in response.

Both structures share one feature renters consistently misunderstand: the money is not refundable and the tenant remains liable for damages and unpaid rent. The product protects the landlord, not the renter. Our post on deposit alternatives like Rhino covers how claims and subrogation actually work.

What Can Be Deducted

Unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, unpaid utility charges billed through the property, and cleaning costs where the unit was left below the standard the lease requires.

Ordinary wear and tear cannot be deducted anywhere. Faded paint, minor nail holes, worn carpet in traffic paths, and normal appliance aging are the landlord's cost of doing business. Charging full replacement value for aged carpet or paint is the most commonly reversed deduction in landlord tenant practice, since those items have useful lives and a charge ignoring age reads as a penalty.

The Return Deadlines Have Teeth

This is where landlords lose money on otherwise valid claims.

Florida requires return within 15 days if no claim is made, or a statutorily worded claim notice by certified mail within 30 days, with the tenant given 15 days to object. Arizona requires an itemized list and any refund within 14 days excluding weekends and holidays, with damages equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld for noncompliance. Virginia requires an itemized written notice within 45 days after the later of termination or the tenant vacating. Pennsylvania requires 30 days with double damages, and South Carolina requires 30 days with treble damages plus attorney fees.

Missing the deadline frequently forfeits the right to withhold anything at all, no matter how legitimate the damage was. The move out sequence that protects both sides is laid out in our moveout checklist, and the Florida framework specifically is covered in our plain English guide to Chapter 83.

If Your Deposit Is Not Returned

Send a written demand citing your state's statute and deadline, keep proof of delivery, and attach your move out photographs.

If that produces nothing, small claims court handles these routinely without a lawyer, and in states with multiplier provisions the recoverable amount can substantially exceed the deposit itself.

One thing to understand about the other direction: if the damage or unpaid rent exceeds the deposit, the landlord can pursue the difference, and that balance can be placed with a collection agency and reported to the credit bureaus. Being sent to collections after a deposit dispute surprises people, and we covered how that happens in can I be sent to collections if the landlord kept my security deposit.

For landlords, the same discipline that satisfies the statute is what makes a leftover balance recoverable: dated inspections, a reconciled ledger, honest itemization, and the disposition mailed inside the deadline with proof. Advanced Collection Bureau works residential and apartment placements nationwide on contingency and can be reached at 321-633-4999. Deposit caps and deadlines change, so confirm your own state's current rule.