# Apartment security deposits around the U.S. (and elsewhere) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 3, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768 "2016-05-03T11:48:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/1 "2016-05-03T11:48:16Z")
I’ve lived in apartments in four states plus DC. Until I moved to DC, I’ve always paid a full month’s rent as a security deposit, which was returned when I moved out, less any damages. But the place I moved to in DC didn’t ask for one. Just a small (~1 week’s rent), non-refundable facilities fee, nor did the place in northern VA after I got priced out of DC (7% rent increase :eek:). It seems like it would be a lot easier to withhold a deposit than to bill someone after the fact. I’m wondering if this is just a oddity of the DC area. How does this work where you live or where you have lived? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/2 "2016-05-03T13:14:43Z")
In Chicago, they’re extremely rare. They charge a non refundable ‘admin fee.’ The rules in Chicago regarding deposit refunds are strict and the judges tend to be tenant friendly. For my $1570 apartment, I paid about $400 for the privilege of moving in. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/3 "2016-05-03T13:24:38Z")
Most places I’ve rented in, there’s a one month security deposit. Sometimes two months. Spanish rental law even includes the proviso that it’s acceptable to use that deposit as payment for the last month if the owner accepts it (whether they are willing to consider this or not has to be included in the actual contract). The Madrid market is very, very fucked up. People were demanding deposits (_fianzas_) of 6 months or more. The latest rental law has made that illegal: the maximum _fianza_ now allowed is one month. Before the ink had dried, the Madrid market had shuffled to requiring 1 month of _fianza_ and N months of _aval_: an _aval_ is a guarantee from a bank indicating you have that money available. And what kind of set ups do many of our banks require in order to give that _aval_ to an individual? Why, a deposit with no interest and no possibility of movement, for that amount. I’ve even been in the situation where I was trying to rent a flat from the bank which holds my mortgage and they were requesting a 12 months _aval_ (for a 12 months contract), which the bank itself would be very happy to grant me for itself in exchange for making that deposit, yes? And of course if you don’t happen to have that much cash at hand why, they’ll be happy to make you a loan so you can make that deposit, hey? I refuse to take jobs in Madrid. A few times the agent, who was in the Madrid area, has asked why. “Rental market.” “Ah! Ah yes, I see you feel my pain. Gotcha.” You know, they never try to convince me, after giving that reason! ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/4 "2016-05-03T14:59:36Z")
Thank you for the information about Spain, **Nava**. The following stood out to me: > [@Nava](#): > > Spanish rental law even includes the proviso that it’s acceptable to use that deposit as payment for the last month if the owner accepts it (whether they are willing to consider this or not has to be included in the actual contract). This has been prohibited in most places I’ve lived, although I don’t ever recall hearing why. I should have checked and noted in my OP that there is a wikipedia article on security deposits here: [Security deposit - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_deposit) Apparently there has even been some SCOTUS activity about them: > [@](#): > > A 1990 ruling of the United States Supreme Court provides that a deposit differs from an advance payment because the depositing party has dominion over the funds and retains the right to insist upon repayment in cash. On the other hand, the party making an advance payment retains no right to insist upon the return of the funds as long as the recipient fulfills the contractual agreement. That case is described here: [Commissioner v. Indianapolis Power & Light Co. - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissioner_v._Indianapolis_Power_%26_Light_Co). But it’s not about rental property. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/5 "2016-05-03T15:14:50Z")
From what I recall looking up rental regulations in other cities and states, there is often a maximum legally allowable deposit. It’s usually the customary 1-month rent (plus possibly first and last month’s rent). I remember looking this up because I saw a listing which requested an additional “pet deposit”, which turned out to be illegal in that state. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that DC has stronger tenants’ protections, including a much lower cap on the deposit. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/6 "2016-05-03T15:15:55Z")
Here (BC, Canada) the security deposit can be no more than 50% of a month’s rent. We’re also required to give 90 days’ written notice of a rent increase, which in turn is strictly limited. The rental vacancy rate hovers around 2%, and rents are sky-high. In other words, landlords are thrilled when you move—whatever they lose in damages you caused they can make up by renting to someone new at market rates. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/7 "2016-05-03T15:21:24Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > In other words, landlords are thrilled when you move—whatever they lose in damages you caused they can make up by renting to someone new at market rates. That may have been the case here. When I asked if that 7% was correct, they told me it was because they’d just completed renovations, and that I was paying less than anyone else in the type of unit I had. So they may actually be getting more from the new tenant than what I would have been paying. Good for them, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/8 "2016-05-03T15:26:03Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > This has been prohibited in most places I’ve lived, although I don’t ever recall hearing why. The usual reasoning is that it’s to protect the owner from a renter not paying the last month. That Spanish law requires the owner to agree twice: first, in the contract itself, they have to say they will consider the possibility; second, when the renter is leaving and asks if it’s ok to cover the last month with the deposit. If the owner doesn’t authorize it in writing, the renter has to pay that last month and wait for his deposit to be returned total or partially. In general, the Spanish legal system includes many laws which define contractual details and what will be their default. So, you can have a rental contract or a work contract which indicates a bit of information and “for the rest, see applicable laws”. Part of the Catalanist strategy to get people living in Catalonia to be against Madrid involves a two-pronged attack on paperwork. Make life harder, then claim it’s Madrid’s fault. Right now to register a rental contract there it cannot include references to the rental law, it’s got to have every single detail (my contract to rent Grandma’s place in Barcelona was 32 pages, vs 5 for the one I have in Valladolid). Some Cambres de la Propietat Urbana (the branch which records rentals) require the deposit to be placed in escrow and do not accept the possibility of substituting the last month; others have no such limits; some require that deposit even if the owner would be perfectly happy without it (happened to a coworker who was renting from a relative). So there you can run into several different situations but it will depend a lot on someone who isn’t even an official party to the contract, they’re overseers. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/9 "2016-05-03T16:57:21Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > That may have been the case here. When I asked if that 7% was correct, they told me it was because they’d just completed renovations, and that I was paying less than anyone else in the type of unit I had. > > So they may actually be getting more from the new tenant than what I would have been paying. Good for them, I guess. Here in BC, they have the allowable increase rates going back to 2004. The highest in the bunch was 4.6% ([scroll down for chart](http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies/during-a-tenancy/rent-increases)). This year it was 2.9%. And no, you can’t round up to the nearest whole dollar. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/10 "2016-05-03T16:58:28Z")
Texas leases seem to be pretty standard, but I think security deposits are flexible. Where I live, there is a flat deposit regardless of the rental amount, which is usually about half the monthly rent, plus an application fee nonrefundable. In Chile, I paid no security deposit at all, and my landlord was astonished when I offered to pay the rent on the remaining month when I moved before the lease expired. That was in a small town, I think it is very different in Santiago, where rentals are nearly always arranged through an attorney and probably entaill an attorney’s fee in addition to everything the attorney can think of. In Paraguay (again, small town), I paid no deposit at all. The landlord just asked for the rent on the first of the month. plus the electric for the previous month, which he kept in his name. In Jordan, there was no deposit, by my landlord rented only to ex-pats with overseas living allowance (which I did not have), so he didn’t worry about it. That was so long ago, it is probably no longer relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/11 "2016-05-03T18:44:00Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > In Chicago, they’re extremely rare. They charge a non refundable ‘admin fee.’ The rules in Chicago regarding deposit refunds are strict and the judges tend to be tenant friendly. For my $1570 apartment, I paid about $400 for the privilege of moving in. Conversely, I’ve rented in Chicago for most of my adult life until I became a condo owner 6 years ago. A month’s rent as security deposit was standard everywhere I ever rented. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/12 "2016-05-04T07:22:54Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > In Chicago, they’re extremely rare. They charge a non refundable ‘admin fee.’ The rules in Chicago regarding deposit refunds are strict and the judges tend to be tenant friendly. For my $1570 apartment, I paid about $400 for the privilege of moving in. However this is a change that happened within the last few years. Ten years ago, everyone asked for security deposits. Five years ago, very few did. Given that I’ve always left my apartments in good shape and got my entire deposit back, I’m less than thrilled that the new move-in / admin fee is non-refundable. ---
**Author:** ![Charmbrights](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@Charmbrights](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charmbrights)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/13 "2016-05-04T08:03:40Z")
In the UK the deposit has to be held in a special bank account and it is returned if the landlord goes broke. The rules for damage payment are very strict. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-security-deposits-around-the-u-s-and-elsewhere/753768/14 "2016-05-04T12:22:32Z")
In the US, one month is fairly standard in rental markets that feature a lot of demand and low vacancies. When supply outstrips demand, and apartment owners are looking to lease units, the security deposit is often one of the first concessions to attract tenants. Big signs advertise $100 or $500 deposit, letting renters know they need less money to move in. New apartments reduce the deposit to lease up faster, and older apartments have to follow suit to attract tenants.