Georgia: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
A Georgia landlord has 30 days after obtaining possession back (following the statute's own move-out inspection process) to return your deposit or send a written statement of exactly why any of it is being kept. There's no state cap on the deposit amount, and no interest is owed on it. A landlord can't keep money for ordinary wear and tear absent negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse by you, but can deduct for unpaid rent, abandonment, unpaid utilities, unpaid pet fees, and actual lease-breach damages. Miss the statute's list-and-statement deadlines and the landlord forfeits the right to withhold anything at all; wrongfully withhold money outright and you can recover three times the amount plus attorney's fees, unless the landlord proves the error was an honest, unintentional mistake despite reasonable safeguards.
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This is the general rule in Georgia. Ezel applies current Georgia law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-30 to 44-7-35 (Georgia's residential security deposit article) |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | 30 days after the landlord obtains possession following the statute's own move-out inspection under § 44-7-33(b) — not gated on any tenant demand letter |
| Itemized statement required? | Yes, if withholding anything — a written statement of the exact reasons for retention, including the § 44-7-33 damage list where the reason is property damage, delivered together with any balance due |
| What can be deducted | Unpaid rent and late fees, abandonment of the premises, unpaid utility charges, repair/cleaning work the tenant contracted with third parties, unpaid pet fees, and actual damages from the tenant's lease breach (landlord must attempt to mitigate). No deposit may be retained for ordinary wear and tear absent the tenant's negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse. |
| Maximum deposit amount | None under state law |
| Interest on the deposit? | No — the statute doesn't require interest on a held deposit |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | 3x the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees, unless the landlord proves by a preponderance of the evidence the withholding was unintentional and a bona fide error despite reasonably designed safeguards. Separately, missing the statute's list/statement deadlines forfeits the landlord's right to withhold anything or sue the tenant for damages at all. |
| Separate account or bond required? | Yes — an escrow account, or a surety bond (up to $50,000) in lieu — but a natural-person landlord (with spouse/minor children) who owns 10 or fewer rental units and doesn't use third-party management is exempt from the escrow/bond and move-in/move-out list requirements. The 30-day return deadline and the wear-and-tear rule still apply to every landlord regardless of size. |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Georgia's residential deposit rules are Article 2 of the landlord-tenant chapter, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-30 through 44-7-36 — definitions, the escrow/bond requirement, the move-in and move-out inspection procedure, the return-and-deduction rule, the noncompliance remedies, and a small-landlord exemption, all in one article.
Deadline to return the deposit
The 30-day clock is tied to the statute's own inspection process, not simply "the day you moved out": "Within 30 days after obtaining possession of the premises as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 44-7-33, a landlord shall return to the tenant the full security deposit which was deposited with the landlord by the tenant." (§ 44-7-34(a)). Subsection (b) of § 44-7-33 requires the landlord to inspect and compile a damage list "within three business days after the termination of the residential lease and vacation of the premises or the surrender and acceptance of the premises, whichever occurs first."
Itemized statement required?
Yes, whenever the landlord withholds anything: "In the event that actual cause exists for retaining any portion of the security deposit, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a written statement identifying the exact reasons for the retention thereof, which shall include the comprehensive list of damages prepared as required by Code Section 44-7-33, if the reason for retention is based on damages to the premises." (§ 44-7-34(a)). The statement has to come with payment of whatever balance remains.
What can be deducted
The statute draws a sharp line on wear and tear: "No security deposit shall be retained to cover ordinary wear and tear which occurred as a result of the use of the premises for the purposes for which the premises were intended, provided that there was no negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse of the premises by the tenant." Beyond damage, the same section separately preserves the landlord's right to use the deposit for "nonpayment of rent or of fees for late payment, for abandonment of the premises, for nonpayment of utility charges, for repair work or cleaning contracted for by the tenant with third parties, for unpaid pet fees, or for actual damages caused by the tenant's breach, provided that the landlord attempts to mitigate the actual damages." (§ 44-7-34(a)).
Maximum deposit amount
None. Georgia's article doesn't set any dollar or months'-rent cap on how much a landlord can charge as a security deposit.
Interest on the deposit?
No. Nothing in §§ 44-7-30 through 44-7-36 requires a landlord to pay interest on a held deposit.
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
Georgia layers two different consequences. First, a straightforward forfeiture for missing deadlines: "The failure of a landlord to provide the lists and written statements within the time periods specified in Code Section 44-7-34 shall work a forfeiture of all the landlord's rights to withhold any portion of the security deposit or to bring an action against the tenant for damages to the premises." (§ 44-7-35(b)). Separately, a landlord who wrongfully withholds money owes treble damages: "Any landlord who fails to return any part of a security deposit which is required to be returned to a tenant pursuant to this article shall be liable to the tenant in the amount of three times the sum improperly withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees; provided, however, that the landlord shall be liable only for the sum erroneously withheld if the landlord shows by the preponderance of the evidence that the withholding was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error which occurred in spite of the existence of procedures reasonably designed to avoid such errors." (§ 44-7-35(c)). There's also a third, narrower trigger: a landlord forfeits everything if ALL THREE of the escrow/bond requirement, the move-in list, and the move-out list were skipped together (§ 44-7-35(a)).
Separate account or bond required?
Yes, for most landlords: "whenever a security deposit is held by a landlord or such landlord's agent on behalf of a tenant, such security deposit shall be deposited in an escrow account established only for that purpose" (§ 44-7-31), or alternatively a surety bond "the total amount of the security deposits which the landlord holds on behalf of the tenants or $50,000.00, whichever is less" (§ 44-7-32(a)). But a small landlord is exempt: "Code Sections 44-7-31, 44-7-32, 44-7-33, and 44-7-35 shall not apply to rental units which are owned by a natural person if such natural person, his or her spouse, and his or her minor children collectively own ten or fewer rental units; provided, however, that this exemption does not apply to units for which management, including rent collection, is performed by third persons, natural or otherwise, for a fee." (§ 44-7-36). Note that this exemption doesn't cover § 44-7-34 itself — the 30-day return deadline and the wear-and-tear rule apply to every landlord, small or large.
What trips people up
The 30-day clock is tied to the statute's inspection process, not simply your move-out date. Because it runs from "obtaining possession... as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 44-7-33," the practical start date depends on when the landlord's own 3-business-day post-move-out inspection happens, or when the landlord discovers the unit was surrendered by vacancy.
A small landlord (10 or fewer units, no third-party management) skips the escrow, bond, and damage-list requirements — but not the 30-day deadline or the wear-and-tear rule. Those two protections in § 44-7-34 apply across the board.
Total forfeiture under § 44-7-35(a) requires ALL THREE failures together — escrow/bond, the move-in list, AND the move-out list — not just one missing document. A landlord who skipped only the move-in list, for instance, doesn't automatically forfeit everything under that specific provision, though missing the § 44-7-34 deadlines separately forfeits the right to withhold anything under § 44-7-35(b).
Common questions
My landlord never gave me a move-in damage list — does that mean I automatically get my whole deposit back? Not by itself under § 44-7-35(a), which requires that the escrow/bond requirement, the move-in list, AND the move-out list all be missing together for that specific forfeiture. Missing the § 44-7-34 deadlines is a separate, independent basis for forfeiture under § 44-7-35(b).
Is there really a $250 flat penalty in Georgia for a bad-faith deposit dispute? Based on the statute's actual text, no — § 44-7-35(c) sets a treble-damages remedy (three times the amount wrongfully withheld) plus attorney's fees, not a fixed $250 figure.
Do I have to send a written demand letter before my landlord's 30-day clock even starts? No. § 44-7-34(a)'s 30-day deadline runs from the landlord obtaining possession under the § 44-7-33(b) inspection process — the statute doesn't condition that clock on the tenant first sending any written demand.
Statutes and sources
- O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34(a) — 30-day return deadline, wear-and-tear rule, and permitted deductions.
https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-7/article-2/section-44-7-34/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - O.C.G.A. § 44-7-33(b)(1) — the move-out inspection and damage-list process that starts the 30-day clock.
https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-7/article-2/section-44-7-33/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - O.C.G.A. § 44-7-35(a)-(c) — forfeiture and treble-damages remedies for noncompliance.
https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-7/article-2/section-44-7-35/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - O.C.G.A. § 44-7-31 — escrow account requirement.
https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-7/article-2/section-44-7-31/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - O.C.G.A. § 44-7-32(a) — surety bond alternative to escrow.
https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-7/article-2/section-44-7-32/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - O.C.G.A. § 44-7-36 — small-landlord exemption from escrow/bond and list requirements.
https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-7/article-2/section-44-7-36/ (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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