Methodology and Sources

Where the numbers come from and what the calculator assumes.

Data

Each state's deposit cap, return deadline, interest, separate-account and itemization rules are taken from the state's landlord-tenant statute, cited and linked on the state page, and cross-checked against Nolo's lawyer-maintained 50-state charts on deposit limits and return deadlines and against state housing-agency guidance. Application-fee rules come from the same statutes. Recent amendments reflected: California AB 12 (July 2024), Maryland HB 693 (October 2024), Colorado SB23-184 (2023), Washington ESHB 1074 (2023).

Calculator assumptions

• The deposit cap is applied to the monthly rent you enter; conditional caps (furnished, pets, tenant age, lease length, landlord size, rent level) use the checkboxes.
• "Last month's rent" is treated as prepaid rent, not as part of the deposit, except where a state counts it toward the cap (noted on screen).
• Pet deposits are shown separately and not tested against the base cap except where the statute folds them in.
• Local ordinances are not modeled.

Not covered

Rent-controlled and rent-stabilized units, subsidized housing, mobile-home lots, commercial leases, and city ordinances.

Updates

Reviewed when state legislatures act; last reviewed October 25, 2026. Corrections: editor@moveincosts.com.