Topic: Rental deposits and landlord power: how many months, and how easily they can end it
What does India require?
Everyday topic
Housing sits on the State List of India's Constitution, so there is no single national tenancy law — the Model Tenancy Act, 2021, approved by the Union Cabinet, is only a template that states may adopt, amend or ignore. It proposes a security deposit capped at two months' rent for residential premises and six for commercial, a written agreement filed with a new Rent Authority within two months of signing, and a three-tier dispute system — Rent Authority, then Rent Court, then Rent Tribunal — meant to resolve disputes faster than ordinary civil courts. So far, only a handful of states, including Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Tamil Nadu, have passed legislation broadly following the model. Most of the country still runs on older, state-specific Rent Control Acts, some dating to the 1940s-60s, which in several states froze rents for long-standing tenancies at levels far below market rent — a policy credited with protecting sitting tenants but also blamed for landlords abandoning the rental market or leaving units vacant rather than renting under controlled rates. This history is why the newer model law leans toward deregulating rent-setting between landlord and tenant while adding a faster dispute forum, rather than reintroducing rent caps.
What is this topic?
Taiwan's Housing Rental Market Development and Management Act caps the deposit at two months' rent (Article 7) and lists five grounds on which a landlord may end the lease early (Article 10) — four require thirty days' written notice, reclaiming the unit for reconstruction requires three months'.
Mainland China's Housing Rental Regulation (State Council Order No. 812, in force since 15 September 2025) only requires the deposit amount, refund timing and deduction grounds to be written into the contract — it sets no cap at all.
Japan's Civil Code Article 622-2 requires a landlord to refund the *shikikin* (security deposit), minus what the tenant owes, once the lease ends and the unit is returned; Japan additionally has *reikin* — "key money" paid to the landlord, usually non-refundable, that no statute requires or limits — and the Land and House Lease Act's Article 28 requires "just cause" before a landlord may refuse renewal or terminate, so a tenant cannot simply be told to leave.
The United States has no federal rule at all: HUD's role is limited to anti-discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, and deposit caps are set state by state — California's Civil Code §1950.5, as amended by AB 12 (effective July 2024), cut the limit from two or three months to one.
India's Model Tenancy Act, 2021 is only a template for states to adopt — it proposes a two-month cap for residential premises, six for commercial — but most states still run on their own older Rent Control Acts.
Indonesia's rental law still traces to the Dutch-era Civil Code (Articles 1548 onward); the deposit amount is left entirely to contract, and a landlord cannot evict a tenant who refuses to leave without going through court.
Brazil's Tenancy Law caps the deposit at three months' rent, held in a savings account (Article 38), while Article 46 lets a landlord reclaim the unit without cause once a contract of thirty months or longer expires.
Sources and dates
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