Rhode Island: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
A Rhode Island landlord has 20 days after the LATEST of three events — the tenancy's termination, delivery of possession, or the tenant giving a forwarding address — to send a written itemized notice and pay back what's left of the deposit. The deposit itself is capped at one month's rent (plus a separate furniture deposit, also capped at one month's rent, if the unit is furnished with furniture worth $5,000 or more). No interest is required, and the deposit doesn't have to sit in a separate account. Miss the deadline or shortchange the itemization, and the landlord owes double the amount wrongfully withheld plus the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Rhode Island. Ezel applies current Rhode Island law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act) |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | 20 days after the LATER of: termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, or the tenant providing a forwarding address for receiving the deposit — whichever of the three happens last |
| Itemized statement required? | Yes — a written notice itemizing every deduction (unpaid rent, cleaning, trash disposal, physical damage beyond wear and tear), delivered together with whatever's left of the deposit, within the same 20-day deadline |
| What can be deducted | Unpaid accrued rent; reasonable cleaning expenses; reasonable trash disposal expenses; physical damage to the premises beyond ordinary wear and tear caused by the tenant's failure to meet the tenant's statutory upkeep duty (§ 34-18-24). Ordinary wear and tear itself may not be deducted. |
| Maximum deposit amount | One month's periodic rent for the ordinary deposit. A separate furniture security deposit, also capped at one month's periodic rent, is allowed on top of that if the unit is furnished and the furniture's replacement value is $5,000 or more. |
| Interest on the deposit? | No interest required |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | Failing to comply with the 20-day return/itemization duty makes the landlord liable for the amount wrongfully withheld, PLUS damages equal to twice that amount, plus the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees — no separate bad-faith showing required beyond the failure to comply itself |
| Separate account or bond required? | No separate-account, trust, or bond requirement found in this section |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Rhode Island's deposit rules live in one section of its landlord-tenant
code, R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19, part of the Residential Landlord and Tenant
Act.
Deadline to return the deposit
The landlord must deliver the itemized notice and pay the balance "within
twenty (20) days after the later of either termination of the tenancy,
delivery of possession, or the tenant's providing the landlord with a
forwarding address" (§ 34-18-19(b)). All three conditions matter: if you
move out but the landlord doesn't actually recover possession, or you never
give a forwarding address, the clock hasn't started running yet.
Itemized statement required?
Yes. The deduction amounts must be "itemized by the landlord in a written
notice delivered to the tenant," sent together with whatever balance is due,
within the same 20-day window (§ 34-18-19(b)).
What can be deducted
"Unpaid accrued rent," "reasonable cleaning expenses," "reasonable trash
disposal expenses," and "physical damages to the premises, other than
ordinary wear and tear, that the landlord has suffered by reason of the
tenant's noncompliance" with the tenant's own statutory upkeep duties in
§ 34-18-24 (§ 34-18-19(b)). Ordinary wear and tear itself can't be deducted.
Maximum deposit amount
"A landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit, however
denominated, in an amount or value in excess of one month's periodic rent"
(§ 34-18-19(a)). A furnished unit is a separate case: if the furniture the
landlord supplies is worth "five thousand dollars ($5,000) or greater," the
landlord may also collect a distinct furniture security deposit, itself
capped at "one month's periodic rent" (§ 34-18-19(e)).
Interest on the deposit?
No. Nothing in § 34-18-19 requires interest on a held deposit.
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
"If the landlord fails to comply with subsection (b), the tenant may
recover the amount due him or her, together with damages in an amount equal
to twice the amount wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorney fees"
(§ 34-18-19(c)). The trigger is simply failing to comply with the 20-day
return/itemization duty — no separate bad-faith showing is required.
Separate account or bond required?
No. This section doesn't require the deposit to be held in a separate
account, an interest-bearing account, or a bond.
What trips people up
The 20-day clock has three possible start dates, and it runs from the
last one, not the first. If you leave the unit but never send a written
forwarding address, the landlord's deadline hasn't started — sending that
address promptly protects you.
A furnished unit can carry TWO deposits with two separate caps. A
$5,000+ furniture package lets the landlord collect a second, distinct
deposit up to another month's rent — on top of, not instead of, the
ordinary one-month cap.
Ordinary wear and tear is expressly off-limits. The statute ties
permitted damage deductions to your own maintenance duty under § 34-18-24 —
routine deterioration from normal living isn't chargeable.
Common questions
How long does my Rhode Island landlord have to return my deposit? 20
days after the last of three things happens: the tenancy ends, the landlord
gets the unit back, or you give a forwarding address.
Is there a cap on my deposit? Yes — one month's rent, plus a possible
separate furniture deposit (also capped at one month's rent) if the unit is
furnished with $5,000 or more in furniture.
What if my landlord misses the deadline or sends no itemized notice?
You can recover the amount wrongfully withheld, double that amount as
damages, and your reasonable attorney's fees.
Statutes and sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(a) — the one-month deposit cap.
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-19.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(b) — the 20-day dual-trigger return/itemization deadline and permitted deductions.
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-19.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(c) — the double-damages-plus-attorney's-fees penalty.
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-19.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(e) — the separate furniture security deposit.
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-19.htm (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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