Deposits & Move-Out

A deposit passes through four moments in a tenancy: you take it at move-in, hold it while the tenant lives there, inspect the unit when they leave, and return what is owed with an itemised statement. Every page in this section belongs to one of those moments, and the paperwork from each one is the evidence for the next.

The rules themselves — how much you may take, where you must hold it, whether it earns interest and how fast it goes back — are set by each state, so the guides show the shape of the rule with a cited example and tell you where to read your own. The tools do the arithmetic and the forms: the inspection walk, the repair record, the deduction statement and the interest owed.