Topic: Rental deposits and landlord power: how many months, and how easily they can end it
What does United States require?
Everyday topic
There is no federal security-deposit law in the United States. HUD's authority over private rentals is limited to enforcing the Fair Housing Act's ban on discrimination; deposit caps, refund deadlines and penalties for bad-faith withholding are entirely state matters, and they vary widely. California's Civil Code §1950.5, amended by Assembly Bill 12 (effective July 2024), cut the maximum from two months' rent (unfurnished) or three (furnished) down to one month's rent for all landlords, with a limited exception for small landlords who own no more than two rental properties; the landlord must itemize deductions and return the balance within 21 days of move-out. Other states set their own numbers or set none at all — some cap deposits at one or two months, some leave the amount to the contract entirely, and return deadlines range from 14 to 60 days. This is the point worth sitting with: asking "what does the US require" about a rental deposit is, itself, the wrong question — the answer depends on which of the fifty states the unit is in. The one federal deposit rule that does exist applies narrowly to HUD-administered public housing and Section 8 vouchers, which HUD caps at one month's rent regardless of state.
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
Dates follow local time zones, calendars, and official notices. Check the source when a date is estimated or locally variable.