What is the Statute of Limitations for Security Deposits?

Share:

What is the Statute of Limitations for Security Deposits?

Staff Writer · Dec 14, 2010

A security deposit is an amount of money collected by a landlord to protect themselves against non-payment of rent or damages to the leased premises. The amount of these deposits varies and the maximum amount chargeable is often set by the government. When and the amount of the deposit that needs to be refunded is often also set by the state legislature.

Statute of Limitations Explained

A statute of limitations is the legal term for the amount of time in which a lawsuit must be brought. To sue over a landlord not refunding a security deposit to which the tenant believes or knows that he is entitled to receive, the tenant must sue within the statute of limitations. How long a statute of limitations runs is set by the state legislature; therefore, the time differs from state to state. On average, however, the amount of time a tenant has in which to sue a landlord for not returning or taking other action on the security deposit is often one year.

Other Applicable State Laws

When the statute of limitations begins to run is also set individually by each state. Most states have established laws providing a time frame in which a landlord must return a security deposit or, at the very least, notify the former tenant that he is managing any damage to the premises and working on how much of the security deposit he will return. The amount of this time ranges from 60 to 90 days, after which time the landlord must return payment or notify the tenant that he is calculating the amount he will return, if any, and when that amount will be remitted.

Keeping the Deposit

Within this period of time a landlord must also notify the tenant that, if applicable, no portion of the security deposit will be refunded. This can be the case when the tenant failed to pay rent, fines or damaged the property. Usually, a security deposit can be kept entirely by the landlord when the amount of damages is equal to or more than the amount of the deposit.

If a landlord intends on retaining the entire security deposit, many states require him to explain why. This can take the form of a letter delineating the types of damage or the amount of rent that was not paid. Oftentimes, without such an explanation it is illegal for the landlord to retain the deposit.

How Long a Tenant Must Wait

These time frames require a tenant to wait up to 90 days prior to suing for the return of his security deposit. If, however, during this time the landlord has contacted the tenant and provided a reasonable explanation for why the deposit has not yet been returned, the tenant may need to wait even longer prior to filing a lawsuit. This could potentially mean that a tenant will have to wait up to six months prior to suing.

You might also like:

Moving into a new apartment or rental property can be both exciting and stressful. From packing up your belongings to coordinating logistics, there’s a lot to manage. However, one aspect that is often overlooked is what to expect on move-in day regarding the condition of your new unit. Surprisingly, according to recent surveys, a significant […]

Jessica Lee

 · Mar 12, 2024

On ApartmentRatings, real renters have the ability to rate and review their apartment communities based on their experience touring and or living in the communities. ApartmentRatings offers renters the ability to see what life is like at a community through a report card grade style format called epIQ. Every month we highlight apartment communities whose […]

Jessica Lee

 · Feb 28, 2024

On ApartmentRatings, real renters have the ability to rate and review their apartment communities based on their experience touring and/or living in them. ApartmentRatings offers renters the ability to see what life is truly like at a community through a report card grade style format called epIQ. Every month we highlight a major city across […]

Jessica Lee

 · Jan 31, 2024