Original research · updated 2026

The Security Deposit Penalty Index

Every U.S. jurisdiction, ranked by how hard its statute punishes a landlord who wrongfully keeps a deposit — scored on damage multipliers, return deadlines, attorney's-fee shifting, and forfeiture rules. Every input verified against the primary statute text.

Cite freely with a link (CC BY 4.0). Methodology below the table.

#	Jurisdiction	Deadline	Multiplier	Fees shift	Score
1	Georgia	30 days	3×	Yes	81
2	Colorado	30 days	3×	Yes	75
3	Maryland	45 days	3×	Yes	75
4	Massachusetts	30 days	3×	Yes	75
5	South Carolina	30 days	3×	Yes	75
6	Texas	30 days	3×	Yes	75
7	Hawaii	14 days	3×	—	74
8	Washington	30 days	2×	Yes	61
9	District of Columbia	45 days	3×	—	60
10	North Dakota	30 days	3×	—	60
11	Rhode Island	20 days	2×	Yes	60
12	Wisconsin	21 days	2×	Yes	60
13	Arkansas	60 days	2×	Yes	55
14	Illinois	45 days	2×	Yes	55
15	Maine	30 days	2×	Yes	55
16	New Jersey	30 days	2×	Yes	55
17	Ohio	30 days	2×	Yes	55
18	New York	14 days	2×	—	54
19	Vermont	14 days	2×	—	54
20	Alaska	14 days	2×	—	48
21	Arizona	14 days	2×	—	48
22	Pennsylvania	30 days	2×	—	46
23	California	21 days	2×	—	45
24	Connecticut	21 days	2×	—	45
25	Delaware	20 days	2×	—	45
26	Alabama	60 days	2×	—	40
27	Michigan	30 days	2×	—	40
28	Missouri	30 days	2×	—	40
29	New Hampshire	30 days	2×	—	40
30	Oregon	31 days	2×	—	40
31	Nebraska	14 days	—	Yes	31
32	Kansas	30 days	1.5×	—	30
33	West Virginia	60 days	1.5×	—	30
34	Florida	30 days	—	Yes	29
35	Indiana	45 days	—	Yes	29
36	Montana	30 days	—	Yes	29
37	New Mexico	30 days	—	Yes	29
38	North Carolina	60 days	—	Yes	29
39	Utah	30 days	—	Yes	23
40	Virginia	45 days	—	Yes	23
41	Kentucky	Duties-based	—	—	18
42	Tennessee	Duties-based	—	—	18
43	South Dakota	14 days	—	—	16
44	Idaho	21 days	—	—	13
45	Minnesota	21 days	—	—	13
46	Iowa	30 days	—	—	8
47	Louisiana	30 days	—	—	8
48	Mississippi	45 days	—	—	8
49	Nevada	30 days	—	—	8
50	Oklahoma	45 days	—	—	8
51	Wyoming	60 days	—	—	8

Methodology

Scores combine four verified statutory features: the damage multiplier available against wrongful withholding (20 points per ×), attorney's-fee shifting to the landlord (15 points), the strictness of the return deadline (up to 15 points; duties-based statutes score 10), and explicit forfeiture-of-deductions rules (6 points). Inputs come from our 51-jurisdiction statute dataset, checked against each state's primary source — the citations are linked from every state page. Scores compare statutes' written remedies; courts decide actual awards, and this is general legal information, not legal advice.