Does Your Landlord Owe You Interest on Your Security Deposit?
13 states and D.C. require interest on at least some deposits, at fixed rates from 1% to 5% or at bank rates. See who qualifies, how to calculate it, and how to claim it.
Only if you rent where the law requires it. Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., make landlords pay interest on at least some security deposits, and some cities add their own rule, such as Los Angeles for rent-stabilized units. Fixed rates run from 1% a year in Minnesota to 5% in Ohio, while other places use a bank or Treasury rate, such as 0.49% in Connecticut and 3.47% in Maryland for 2026. Many of these rules start only after the landlord has held your deposit for 6 months to 2 years, or cover only larger buildings.
Where landlords must pay interest
| Where | Who it covers | Rate | When you get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut (Gen. Stat. 47a-21) | Most landlords; school-run student housing is exempt | The state deposit index: 0.49% for 2026 | Each tenancy anniversary, paid or credited to rent; within 21 days if you move out sooner |
| District of Columbia (14 DCMR 311) | Tenancies of 12 months or more | At least the statement savings rate at the D.C. bank holding the deposit, reset each January 1 and July 1 | With the deposit when you move out |
| Florida (Stat. 83.49) | Only deposits kept in an interest-bearing account or backed by a landlord's surety bond | Account: 75% of its rate or 5% simple, at the landlord's choice; bond: 5% simple | At least once a year, paid or credited to rent |
| Illinois (765 ILCS 715) | Buildings or complexes of 25 or more units; deposits held over 6 months; not public housing | The passbook savings rate of the state's largest bank on December 31 before your lease began | Within 30 days after each lease year if it totals $5 or more and you are not in breach of the lease; the rest at move-out |
| Maryland (Real Prop. 8-203) | Deposits of $50 or more held at least 6 months | The 1-year Treasury rate on the year's first business day or 1.5%, whichever is greater: 3.47% for 2026 | With the deposit, within 45 days after the tenancy ends |
| Massachusetts (G.L. c. 186, s. 15B) | Deposits held 1 year or more, and prepaid last month's rent | 5%, or less if the bank paid less | At the end of each tenancy year, paid or as a rent credit; within 30 days if the tenancy ends sooner |
| Minnesota (Stat. 504B.178) | All deposits | 1% simple | With the deposit refund |
| New Hampshire (RSA 540-A:6) | Deposits held 1 year or more; not owner-occupied buildings of 5 or fewer units (unless you are 60 or older) or a single-family home whose owner has no other rentals | The regular savings rate at the New Hampshire bank holding it | With the deposit; you can also ask for it every 3 years |
| New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19) | Most rentals; an owner-occupied two- or three-family home is exempt unless you opt in | What the required account earns | Each lease anniversary or renewal, or January 31 if the landlord gave written notice, paid or credited to rent |
| New Mexico (NMSA 47-8-18) | Annual leases with a deposit above one month's rent | The passbook rate the Federal Home Loan Bank Board allowed New Mexico savings and loans to pay; that board was abolished in 1989 and the statute names no replacement, so ask your landlord which rate it uses | Each year |
| New York (Gen. Oblig. Law 7-103) | Buildings with 6 or more units, and any deposit placed in an interest-bearing account | The account's earnings minus a 1% yearly fee the landlord keeps | Yearly, as a rent credit, or when the lease ends |
| North Dakota (Cent. Code 47-16-07.1) | Occupancy of 9 months or more | What the required insured account earns | With the deposit when the lease ends |
| Ohio (Rev. Code 5321.16) | The part of the deposit above $50 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, if you stay 6 months or more | 5% | Each year |
| Pennsylvania (68 P.S. 250.511b) | Deposits over $100, from the deposit's second anniversary | The account's earnings minus a 1% yearly fee | Each year on your lease anniversary |
| Los Angeles (Rent Stabilization Ordinance) | Rent-stabilized units, meaning most units in buildings first approved for occupancy before October 1, 1978; deposits held 1 year or more | 3.03% simple for 2026, or the interest actually earned | Monthly or yearly, paid or credited to rent; the rest at move-out |
Chicago's landlord-tenant ordinance sets its own yearly rate; see Illinois security deposit rights. California's state deposit law has no interest rule, so in California the answer depends on your city. Virginia's deposit law has no interest rule either.
When you are not owed interest
Besides the building-size, amount, and holding-period limits in the table, three conditions can cost you interest:
- Late rent. Connecticut owes no interest for a month in which your rent was more than 10 days late, unless the landlord charged a late fee for it.
- Leaving early. In Florida, a tenant who wrongfully ends the tenancy before the lease term is over loses the interest.
- A state that gives it to the landlord. Washington gives the account's interest to the landlord unless your agreement says otherwise in writing (RCW 59.18.270), Missouri gives it to the landlord (RSMo 535.300), and Iowa gives the landlord the interest earned during the first 5 years of a tenancy (Code 562A.12).
How to calculate what you are owed
Multiply the deposit by the rate and by the time the rate applied. Maryland, Minnesota, and Los Angeles use simple interest, meaning interest is figured on the deposit only, not on past interest, and Maryland counts only full months. Connecticut adds accrued interest to the balance once a year. When the rate changes each year, as in Connecticut, Maryland, and Los Angeles, figure each year at its own rate and add the results.
- Maryland, $1,500 deposit held all of 2026: $1,500 times 3.47% is $52.05.
- Ohio, $1,400 rent and a $2,100 deposit held one year: interest applies only to the part above one month's rent, $2,100 minus $1,400, or $700. Then $700 times 5% is $35.
- New York, $2,400 deposit in an account paying 3%: the landlord keeps 1% of the deposit a year, so you are owed 2%, or $48 a year.
Maryland law requires its housing department to post each year's Treasury rate or an interest calculator, and the U.S. Treasury publishes the daily yields the rule uses.
How to claim interest you were not paid
- Find where the deposit is held. Massachusetts requires a yearly statement with the bank, account number, and interest, and New Jersey's yearly notice lists the bank, account type, and rate. In New Hampshire, the landlord must give you the bank, account number, balance, and rate if you ask. Our guide to security deposit receipts and documentation lists these notices by state.
- Ask in writing. Name the law, show your calculation, and ask for payment or a rent credit by a set date, such as 14 days out.
- Take a rent credit where the law allows it. In Massachusetts, if you receive neither the interest nor a notice to deduct it within 30 days after a tenancy year ends, you may deduct the interest from your next rent. In New Jersey, when the landlord gives no required notice or pays no interest, you can tell it in writing to apply your deposit plus 7% annual interest to rent; a landlord that missed only a yearly notice or payment first gets 30 days to fix it. See New Jersey security deposit rights and Massachusetts security deposit rights.
- Claim the penalty if you sue. A Massachusetts landlord that does not return the deposit and its interest within 30 days after the tenancy ends owes three times the amount due, plus 5% interest, court costs, and attorney fees. When unpaid interest is a Connecticut landlord's only violation, it owes $10 or twice the interest, whichever is greater. D.C. allows triple the interest for bad faith, and an Illinois landlord that willfully refuses to pay owes an amount equal to the deposit, plus court costs and attorney fees. In Maryland, interest is part of the deposit due within 45 days, so withholding it without a reasonable basis can cost up to three times the amount withheld; see Maryland security deposit rights.
For caps, return deadlines, and the other deposit rules in each state, see the overview of state security deposit laws.
Sources
- Mass. General Laws chapter 186, section 15B (security deposits; interest) (The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts)
- Truth in Renting: A guide to the rights and responsibilities of residential tenants and landlords in New Jersey (security deposits) (New Jersey Department of Community Affairs)
- Md. Code, Real Property section 8-203 (security deposits; interest) (Maryland General Assembly)
- Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve Rates, January 2026 (1-year rate of 3.47% on January 2, 2026) (U.S. Department of the Treasury)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. section 47a-21 (security deposits; interest) (Connecticut General Assembly)
- Deposit Index and Interest Rates (2026 rental security deposit rate) (Connecticut Department of Banking)
- N.Y. General Obligations Law section 7-103 (security deposits held in trust; interest) (New York State Senate)
- Security Deposit Interest Act, 765 ILCS 715/1 to 715/3 (Illinois General Assembly)
- 14 DCMR sections 308 and 311 (security deposit escrow accounts; interest) (District of Columbia Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances)
- Rent Stabilization Bulletin: Interest Payment on Security Deposit (January 13, 2026) (Los Angeles Housing Department)
- New Mexico House Bill 6 (2023), showing the current text of NMSA 47-8-18 (deposits; passbook interest) (New Mexico Legislature)
- FDIC history, 1980 to 1989 (Federal Home Loan Bank Board abolished in 1989) (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
Legal Disclaimer: Tellus provides this content for informational purposes only. This is not legal advice. Laws vary by state and locality, and regulations may have changed since this article was published. Consult a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
Rules in your state
State law sets many of the limits and deadlines described above. These pages cite the statute for each state.
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