How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Idaho?

21 days. That 21 days is the default where the lease fixes no other period. The lease may set a different deadline, but the refund is due within 30 days after surrender no matter what, and the clock runs from surrender of the premises rather than from any forwarding address (Idaho Code § 6-321(2)).

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Idaho?

Idaho has no penalty multiplier. A shorted tenant sues for damages and specific performance under § 6-320(a)(4), after first giving the landlord a 3-day written notice and demand to cure, and the prevailing party recovers attorney fees.

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Idaho?

No — Idaho does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant.

What are the security deposit rules in Idaho?

Verified July 11, 2026 All Idaho topics →

Idaho puts no cap on security deposits, but the landlord must refund the deposit within 21 days after the tenant surrenders the premises — or within a different period the lease fixes, never more than 30 days after surrender.

Cited to Idaho Code § 6-321 (1)-(4) and 4 more Idaho statutes · Verified July 11, 2026

Any partial refund must come with a signed statement itemizing what was kept, why, and how it was spent, and nothing may be kept for normal wear and tear, which the statute defines. There is no penalty multiplier: a shorted tenant's remedy is a damages suit under § 6-320 after a 3-day written demand, with attorney fees to whoever wins. One quiet 2021 addition: deposits held by a third-party property manager must sit in a separate account at a federally insured institution, though owners, owner-affiliated managers, real estate licensees, and nonprofits are all exempt from that rule.

Idaho security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	No statutory cap
Return deadline	21 days
Deadline conditions	That 21 days is the default where the lease fixes no other period. The lease may set a different deadline, but the refund is due within 30 days after surrender no matter what, and the clock runs from surrender of the premises rather than from any forwarding address (Idaho Code § 6-321(2)). Refund is due within 21 days after termination of the lease and surrender of the premises if no time is fixed by agreement; the parties' agreement may fix a different period, but the refund is due in any event within 30 days after surrender (§ 6-321(2)). Idaho has no forwarding-address trigger.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	Any refund of less than the full amount deposited must be accompanied by a signed statement itemizing the amounts lawfully retained, the purpose for each amount retained, and a detailed list of expenditures made from the deposit (§ 6-321(2)). No part of the deposit may be retained for normal wear and tear, which § 6-321(1) defines as deterioration from intended use without negligence, carelessness, accident, or misuse by the tenant, household members, invitees, or guests.
Separate account required	No
Interest owed to tenant	No
Account & interest rules	Not addressed by statute
Pet deposits	No separate pet-deposit statute. Idaho Code § 6-321(1) deems all amounts deposited for any purpose other than payment of rent to be security deposits, so a refundable pet deposit is subject to the same 21/30-day return and itemization rules.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Not addressed by statute
Penalty for violation	Idaho has no penalty multiplier. A shorted tenant sues for damages and specific performance under § 6-320(a)(4), after first giving the landlord a 3-day written notice and demand to cure, and the prevailing party recovers attorney fees. The claim is for failure to return a deposit as required by law (§ 6-320(a)(4)). The 3-day written notice and demand is a precondition to filing (§ 6-320(d), served per § 6-323), and attorney fees go to the prevailing party (§ 6-324).
Tenant forwarding-address duty	Not addressed by statute

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Idaho Security Deposit Laws (verified July 11, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/idaho/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Idaho statute in the citations section below.

Generate a Idaho security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Idaho rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

No deposit cap — and cities can't create one — Neither Title 6, ch. 3 (§§ 6-301 to 6-324) nor Title 55, chs. 2-3 contains any deposit cap, and § 55-306 in fact preempts local regulation of deposits.
'Nonrefundable' fees are an open question — No statute expressly allows or bans them. § 6-321(1) deems every non-rent amount deposited a refundable security deposit (refundable except contingencies specified in the deposit arrangement), and the AG manual's framing is 'rent is non-refundable, deposits are refundable.'
Separate-account rule hits only third-party managers — § 6-321(4) (added 2021 ch. 197) imposes the separate federally-insured-account rule only on third-party managers, and exempts property owners, managers with common members/principals of the owner entity, real estate licensees, and title 30, ch. 30 nonprofits — the licensee exemption covers most professional PMs.
No interest required — Title 6, ch. 3 and Title 55, chs. 2-3 contain no interest provision.
Property sold? The new owner owes the refund — § 6-321(3): on sale of the property the new owner is liable for the refund.
Agricultural carve-out on remedies — § 6-320(e): the tenant remedy section does not apply to tracts of 5+ acres used for agricultural purposes.

Common questions: Idaho security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Idaho?: No statutory cap.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Idaho?: 21 days. That 21 days is the default where the lease fixes no other period. The lease may set a different deadline, but the refund is due within 30 days after surrender no matter what, and the clock runs from surrender of the premises rather than from any forwarding address (Idaho Code § 6-321(2)).
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Idaho?: Idaho has no penalty multiplier. A shorted tenant sues for damages and specific performance under § 6-320(a)(4), after first giving the landlord a 3-day written notice and demand to cure, and the prevailing party recovers attorney fees.
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Idaho?: No — Idaho does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant.
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Idaho?: Not addressed by statute.

Statute citations

Idaho Code § 6-321 (1)-(4) (verified 2026) Official source
Idaho Code § 6-320 (a)(4), (d), (e) (verified 2026) Official source
Idaho Code § 6-323 (verified 2026) Official source
Idaho Code § 6-324 (verified 2026) Official source
Idaho Office of the Attorney General, Landlord and Tenant Manual (July 2026) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on legislature.idaho.gov (official HTML section pages), double-read against the official chapter PDFs (T6CH3.pdf, T55CH3.pdf, T55CH2.pdf) and the enrolled session laws S1043 (2025 ch. 65 recodification), H0594 (2020 ch. 254), H0545 (2024 ch. 257); Idaho Attorney General Landlord and Tenant Manual used as official agency confirmation of verified negatives (July 2025 edition at the original pass; on 2026-08-12 the citations were repointed to the July 2026 edition after confirming the relied-on guidance — deposits/rent refundability framing, entry-rights lease-drafting advice, late-fee coverage — is unchanged); FindLaw mirror used only to reconcile pre-2025 section numbering.