Money a tenant leaves with a landlord against damage or unpaid rent - held under state rules that usually require an itemised accounting within a fixed period after move-out.
A security deposit remains the tenant's money held by the landlord for a limited purpose. Nearly every state regulates it, and the rules commonly cover how much may be collected, whether it must be held in a separate or interest-bearing account, and what it may be applied to - typically unpaid rent and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, but not the ordinary consequences of someone having lived there.
The provision that decides most disputes is the accounting deadline. States generally require the landlord, within a set period after the tenancy ends, to return the deposit or provide an itemised written statement of what was withheld and why. Missing that deadline can forfeit the right to withhold anything at all, and a number of states add a penalty - sometimes a multiple of the deposit - where the failure is wrongful.
The recurring fight is the line between damage and wear and tear. Documented condition at move-in and move-out is what resolves it, and its absence is why so many of these disputes come down to two competing recollections.
These claims are usually small enough for small-claims court, so the useful advice is often about the deadline and the paperwork rather than about litigation. It is worth asking when a deposit is withheld without an itemised statement, when the amounts charged look like ordinary wear, or when the sum is large - and worth knowing that a landlord who misses the statutory deadline may have lost the ability to withhold regardless of the condition of the property.
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