Security Deposits

Most landlords require tenants to pay a security deposit when they move in. A DC landlord cannot charge you more than one month's rent as a security deposit, and it can only be collected once; in Virginia and Maryland, the maximum amount is two months rent. The landlord must give you, in writing, the terms of your security deposit. Keep your copy, and make sure to get a receipt!

Before entering into a lease agreement with the landlord, a tenant should clearly know the terms under which payment of the security deposit is to be made. The tenant should be aware of the following requirements:

  1. The landlord is required to state in the lease agreement, or on the receipt for the security deposit, the terms and conditions under which the security deposit payment is being made.
  2. After a tenancy is terminated, the landlord has 45 days to return the deposit or notify the tenant in writing of his/her intention to withhold and apply the monies towards the cost of expenses incurred under the terms and conditions of the security deposit clause of the lease agreement. The amount of the security deposit must be the passbook rate, the prevailing on Jan. 1 and on July 1 for each 6 month period (or part thereof) of the tenancy which financial institution where the escrow account is held when deciding to trminate the tenancy.
  3. If the landlord notifies a tenant that he or she intends to withhold the security deposit, the landlord has 30 days, from the date that the tenant was first notified, to refund the balance of the deposit that was not used to pay the costs of expenses incurred, and at the same time give the tenant an itemized statement, including cost, of the repairs and other uses for which the money ws spent.