Can my landlord keep my security deposit for breaking the lease?
What Landlords Can Deduct
If you break your lease, your landlord can use your security deposit to cover unpaid rent, advertising costs, screening fees for new tenants, and any damages beyond normal wear and tear. However, they can't simply keep the deposit as a penalty for breaking the lease. They must account for the money and return any unused portion.
In most states, landlords have a duty to mitigate damages—meaning they must make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit. If they re-rent quickly, your liability may be limited to the time the unit was vacant and their actual expenses. The deposit can be applied to those amounts.
- Unpaid rent for the remaining lease term (minus mitigation).
- Advertising and screening costs for new tenants.
- Damage beyond normal wear and tear.
- Cleaning fees if specified in the lease and reasonable.
- Any other actual financial loss caused by your early termination.
Your Rights
Your landlord must provide a written itemized statement of deductions, usually within the same deadline as returning the deposit. If they fail to do so, you may be entitled to get your full deposit back, plus penalties in some states.
If you disagree with the deductions, send a written dispute to your landlord. If that doesn't resolve it, you can sue in small claims court. Keep copies of your lease, move-out photos, and communications.
Common mistakes
- Believing the deposit is automatically forfeited if you break the lease—landlords can only deduct actual losses.
- Not requesting an itemized list of deductions, which landlords are required to provide in most states.
- Failing to dispute unfair deductions in writing, which can weaken your case if you go to court.
