Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions in Connecticut

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Connecticut's whole deposit scheme is in one long section: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21.

Deadline to return the deposit

The clock has two possible triggers, and whichever runs later controls: "Not later than twenty-one days after termination of a tenancy or fifteen days after receiving written notification of such tenant's forwarding address, whichever is later, each landlord... shall deliver to the tenant... either (A) the full amount of the security deposit paid by such tenant plus accrued interest, or (B) the balance of such security deposit and accrued interest after deduction for any damages... together with a written statement itemizing the nature and amount of such damages." (§ 47a-21(d)(2)). In practice: if you give your forwarding address late, the landlord gets extra time measured from when they actually received it.

Itemized statement required?

Yes, if the landlord is keeping any part of the deposit. The same subsection above requires "a written statement itemizing the nature and amount of such damages," delivered within the same 21-/15-day deadline.

What can be deducted

The statute ties deductions to the tenant's own obligations under the lease and the landlord-tenant act — unpaid rent or utilities, and an unpaid lock-change cost the tenant caused. Under § 47a-21(d)(1), the landlord returns the deposit less "the value of any damages that any person who was a landlord of such premises at any time during the tenancy of such tenant has suffered as a result of such tenant's failure to comply with such tenant's obligations." The statute never actually uses the phrase "normal wear and tear" anywhere in this section.

Maximum deposit amount

Connecticut ties the cap to the tenant's age: "In the case of a tenant under sixty-two years of age, a landlord shall not demand a security deposit in an amount that exceeds two months' rent." It separately says: "In the case of a tenant sixty-two years of age or older, a landlord shall not demand a security deposit in an amount that exceeds one month's rent." (§ 47a-21(b)). If you turn 62 after already paying a bigger deposit, the landlord has to refund the difference once you ask.

Interest on the deposit?

Yes — Connecticut is one of the few states with a mandatory annual interest requirement. The rate is set every year using the state's own "deposit index": "the rate for each calendar year shall be not less than the deposit index... On the anniversary date of the tenancy and annually thereafter, such interest shall be paid to the tenant... or credited toward the next rental payment." (§ 47a-21(i)). There's a catch, though: "Interest shall not be paid to a tenant for any month in which the tenant has been delinquent for more than ten days in the payment of any monthly rent, unless the landlord imposes a late charge for such delinquency." (same subsection).

Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding

Missing the return deadline carries a flat doubling: "Any landlord who violates any provision of this subsection shall be liable for twice the amount of any security deposit paid by such tenant." There's a narrower carve-out if interest alone was the problem: "if the only violation is the failure to deliver the accrued interest, such landlord shall be liable for ten dollars or twice the amount of the accrued interest, whichever is greater." (§ 47a-21(d)(2)). Separately, a landlord who "knowingly and wilfully fails to pay all or any part of a security deposit when due" can be fined up to $250 by the state — a distinct penalty track that doesn't go to the tenant, and comes with its own good-faith defense (§ 47a-21(k)(1)).

Separate account or bond required?

Yes. "Each landlord shall immediately deposit the entire amount of any security deposit received by such landlord from each tenant into one or more escrow accounts established or maintained in a financial institution" in Connecticut, held for the tenant's benefit and withdrawn only for specific listed purposes like disbursing the deposit, paying interest, or transferring it to a new landlord. (§ 47a-21(h)(1)).

What trips people up

The 21-day clock can restart later than move-out. If you don't give your landlord a written forwarding address right away, the landlord's deadline shifts to 15 days after they actually receive it — so waiting to send your address can cost you time, not save it.

Being late on rent can cost you your interest, not just a late fee. Unless your lease has its own late-fee clause, paying rent more than 10 days late in any given month wipes out that month's interest on your deposit entirely.

The state fine for willful nonpayment doesn't put money in your pocket. The $250 fine under § 47a-21(k)(1) is a penalty the state can pursue against a landlord — it's separate from, and doesn't replace, your own right to the doubled-deposit remedy under (d)(2) if the deadline is missed.

Common questions

My landlord returned my deposit but never paid the annual interest — what can I recover? If that's the ONLY violation, the penalty is narrower than the usual doubling: $10 or twice the unpaid interest, whichever is greater, rather than twice the whole deposit.

I turned 62 partway through my lease — does my deposit automatically drop to one month's rent? Not automatically. The landlord must refund the excess above one month's rent, but only once you make the request.

Does Connecticut require my landlord to keep my deposit in a Connecticut bank specifically? Yes — the escrow account has to be at a financial institution located in the state, not just any bank.

Statutes and sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(b) — deposit cap, with a reduced cap for tenants 62 and older. https://prdext2.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_831.htm#sec_47a-21 (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(d) — deductions, the 21-/15-day return deadline, itemization, and the 2x penalty. https://prdext2.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_831.htm#sec_47a-21 (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(h)(1) — escrow account requirement. https://prdext2.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_831.htm#sec_47a-21 (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(i) — mandatory annual interest and the late-rent interest forfeiture. https://prdext2.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_831.htm#sec_47a-21 (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(k)(1) — separate state fine for a knowing and willful violation. https://prdext2.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_831.htm#sec_47a-21 (accessed 2026-08-24)