Security Deposit Demand Letters
The money nobody asks for

Your landlord may owe you interest on your deposit.

In 15 states — and in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City — holding a tenant's deposit is not free. The landlord owes interest on it, usually every year, usually without being asked. Almost nobody asks. Here is your state's rule, and what it's worth.

15
states that require deposit interest
5%
a year in Massachusetts and Ohio — the highest fixed statutory rates
4
city regimes that add their own requirement
Demand my deposit + interest — $29 Find my state
Estimate your deposit interest
Only the four states whose statute fixes the rate can be estimated. The other 11 tie it to a bank or Treasury rate that changes every year — see the table below for those.
$

Simple interest, for illustration. Statutes attach conditions — minimum holding periods, unit counts, account types, and in Ohio a $50/one-month threshold before interest accrues at all. This is an estimate, not a statement of what you are owed.

State by state

Who owes interest, and how much

Connecticut

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(i)

Your landlord owes you interest each year, at a rate Connecticut's banking regulator publishes annually — it tracks what ordinary savings accounts pay.

Applies when: Tenancies of one year or more; interest accrues from the date of deposit.

District of Columbia

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 14, § 308

Your deposit has to sit in a separate interest-bearing bank account, and you get the interest it actually earned at the standard savings rate.

Applies when: Applies where the deposit is held 12 months or longer.

Florida

Fla. Stat. § 83.49

Only if your landlord chose to put the deposit in an interest-bearing account. If they did, you get either 5% a year, or 75% of what the account actually earned — the landlord picks. If they used a non-interest account or posted a bond instead, no interest is owed.

Applies when: No interest is owed for any period the tenant is in default on the lease.

Illinois

765 ILCS 715/1 (Security Deposit Interest Act)

Interest each year at the rate the state's largest bank pays on a basic savings account — a figure that changes annually.

Applies when: Buildings of 25 or more units, where the deposit is held more than six months. Chicago's RLTO imposes its own, broader rule.

Iowa

Iowa Code § 562A.12

Your deposit must sit in an insured account that earns interest. The catch: for the first five years of your tenancy the landlord keeps that interest. Only after five years does it become yours.

Applies when: Most tenants never reach the five-year threshold — check the tenancy length before demanding interest.

Maryland 1.5% fixed

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(e)

Simple interest at 1.5% a year, or the one-year U.S. Treasury rate if that is higher, added every six months.

Applies when: Deposits over $50 held at least six months.

Massachusetts 5% fixed

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 15B(3)(b)

5% a year — or the actual interest earned, if the deposit sat in an account paying less than 5%.

Applies when: Deposits held one year or longer; payable annually and at the end of the tenancy.

Minnesota 1% fixed

Minn. Stat. § 504B.178

1% a year, simple interest — it does not compound.

Applies when: Accrues from the date of deposit; the rate was reduced from 3% for periods after August 1, 2003.

New Hampshire

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:6

Interest at whatever rate the bank holding your deposit pays on a regular savings account.

Applies when: Deposits held one year or longer; the tenant may request payment of accrued interest every three years.

New Jersey

N.J. Stat. Ann. § 46:8-19

Your deposit must be invested in an insured account (a money market fund or similar), and you get the interest it earns — the landlord may keep up to 1% a year as an administrative fee.

Applies when: Interest is paid annually, either in cash or as a rent credit.

New Mexico

N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-18

Interest once a year, at least matching what a basic savings account pays. (The statute calls this the “passbook” rate — an old banking term for an ordinary savings account.)

Applies when: Required only where the deposit exceeds one month's rent AND the lease term is one year or longer.

New York

N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103

Your deposit must sit in a New York bank account earning interest at the going rate. Your landlord may keep 1% a year as an administrative fee and must pay you the rest.

Applies when: Buildings with six or more units. New York City rules add requirements.

North Dakota

N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1

Your deposit must sit in a savings account that earns interest, and that interest is yours.

Applies when: Tenancies of at least nine months.

Ohio 5% fixed

Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(A)

5% a year — but only on the part of your deposit above $50 or one month's rent, whichever is larger.

Applies when: Deposits held six months or longer.

Pennsylvania

68 Pa. Stat. § 250.511b

Your deposit must sit in a separate interest-bearing bank account, and the interest is yours minus a landlord fee of up to 1% a year.

Applies when: Deposits over $100 held more than two years; interest accrues from the start of the 25th month of tenancy.

Cities with their own rule

Chicago

Chicago Mun. Code § 5-12-080 (RLTO)

Interest every year at a rate Chicago's City Comptroller publishes, paid within 30 days of the end of each 12-month rental period.

Broader than the Illinois state rule — the RLTO reaches most Chicago rentals, not just 25-unit buildings.

San Francisco

S.F. Admin. Code ch. 49

Interest every year at a rate the San Francisco Rent Board sets, paid for each year your landlord holds the deposit.

California has no statewide deposit-interest requirement — this is purely local.

Los Angeles

L.A. Mun. Code § 151.06.02 (RSO)

Interest every year on deposits for rent-stabilized units, at the rate the Los Angeles Housing Department publishes.

Applies to RSO-covered units; California has no statewide requirement.

New York

N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103; NYC administrative rules

Interest at the going bank rate; your landlord may keep 1% a year as an administrative fee.

Buildings with six or more units.

Interest rules source-checked 2026-08-29. Rates set by index or bank rate change annually — always confirm the current figure with your state or city housing authority before relying on a number.

Demand the interest too.Where your state requires it, your letter cites the provision and demands accrued interest alongside the deposit — in the same envelope.
Start my letter — $29
Questions

Deposit interest, answered

Which states require landlords to pay interest on a security deposit?
15 jurisdictions do: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania. Several cities — Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City — add their own rules, and Chicago's and San Francisco's reach buildings the state rule does not.
How much interest is my deposit owed?
It depends on your state. Four fix the rate by statute: Massachusetts and Ohio at 5% a year, Maryland at a floor of 1.5%, Minnesota at 1% simple. The rest tie it to a bank or Treasury rate that changes annually, so the honest answer is that the statute — not a calculator — sets your number. Use the estimator below for the fixed-rate states and treat it as an estimate.
Does my landlord have to pay interest automatically?
In most of these states, yes — annually, at the end of the tenancy, or both, without you asking. That is exactly why it goes unpaid: nobody asks. A demand letter that cites the interest provision alongside the return deadline puts both on the table at once.
What if my landlord never paid the interest?
Unpaid statutory interest is money you are owed on top of the deposit, and in several states failing to pay it carries its own penalty. Our demand letter cites your state's interest provision and demands accrued interest along with the deposit — most tenants never ask for it, so most landlords never pay it.

Demand the deposit and the interest.

If your state requires interest, your letter cites that provision and demands it alongside the deposit — automatically, in the same envelope.

Start my letter — $29