What are the security deposit rules in Louisiana?

Verified July 9, 2026 All Louisiana topics →

Pending legislation — not yet law. The rules on this page reflect current law only. The following bill would change it if enacted:

HB 292 (2026 Reg. Sess.) — Act No. 63 — Amends R.S. 9:3251(A) to extend the itemized-statement window: from August 1, 2026 the lessor may forward the itemization 'within one month after the date the tenancy terminates or within fifteen days after the date that is one month after the tenancy terminates' — effectively one month plus 15 days for the itemized statement. The one-month deadline to return the deposit itself is unchanged, as are R.S. 9:3252-3254. Carry-forward: after 2026-08-01, fold this into security_deposits (itemization_rules / return_deadline_conditions) and re-verify the consolidated statute page on legis.la.gov.Status: Enacted — signed by the Governor May 11, 2026 (House 87-3, Senate 35-0); effective August 1, 2026; not yet reflected on the legis.la.gov consolidated statute page as of the check date (checked 2026-07-09).

Louisiana sets no limit on how much a landlord can charge as a security deposit, but the deposit must be returned within one month after the lease terminates, minus only what is reasonably necessary to remedy the tenant's default or unreasonable wear.

If anything is kept, the landlord must send an itemized statement giving the reasons within that same month, to the forwarding address the tenant is required to leave. The enforcement lever is the tenant's written demand: a landlord who fails to remit within 30 days of a written refund demand is deemed in willful violation and owes the wrongfully kept amount plus the greater of $300 or double that amount, with costs and attorney's fees available to whichever side prevails. Two Louisiana quirks cut the other way: a tenant who abandons the premises — or leaves without required notice — loses the return-and-itemization protections entirely, and no interest or separate account is ever required. These rights cannot be waived in a lease.

Louisiana security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	No statutory cap
Return deadline	30 days
Deadline conditions	The statute's unit is 'one month,' not 30 days: the deposit must be returned 'within one month after the lease shall terminate' (R.S. 9:3251(A)). The lessor may retain only what is 'reasonably necessary to remedy a default of the tenant or to remedy unreasonable wear to the premises.' Major carve-out: subsection A does not apply at all 'when the tenant abandons the premises, either without giving notice as required or prior to the termination of the lease' (9:3251(C)). On sale of the property, the deposit transfers to the buyer, who becomes responsible for its return (9:3251(B)).
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	If any portion of the deposit is retained, the lessor must forward an itemized statement 'accounting for the proceeds which are retained and giving the reasons therefor' within one month after the tenancy terminates (R.S. 9:3251(A)). From August 1, 2026, Act 63 of 2026 adds an alternative window of 15 days after the one-month mark for the itemized statement (flagged in pending_legislation; not yet effective). No statute enumerates permitted deduction categories beyond tenant default and unreasonable wear; normal wear is not deductible.
Separate account required	No
Interest owed to tenant	No
Account & interest rules	Not addressed by statute
Pet deposits	No statute addresses pet deposits. The Attorney General's official guide treats money held as a refundable pet deposit as covered by the Lessee's Deposit Act (same return, itemization, and penalty rules), while money labeled a 'pet fee or charge' falls outside the Act and is governed by the lease.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Not addressed by statute
Penalty for violation	Willful failure to comply with R.S. 9:3251 entitles the tenant to recover the wrongfully retained portion PLUS the greater of $300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained (R.S. 9:3252(A), as amended by Acts 2018, No. 416, eff. Jan. 1, 2019). Failure to remit within 30 days after the tenant's written demand for a refund constitutes willful failure per se. Costs and attorney's fees are discretionary and go to the prevailing party — either side (9:3253). Any waiver of the tenant's rights under the part is null and void (9:3254). Venue lies in the parish of the lessor's domicile or where the property sits (9:3252(B)).
Tenant forwarding-address duty	The tenant 'shall furnish the lessor a forwarding address at the termination of the lease' to which the itemized statement may be sent (R.S. 9:3251(A)). Separately, the written-demand letter is what starts the 30-day clock that makes a failure to remit willful under 9:3252 — tenants are well advised to send it certified on move-out (per the AG guide).

Notes and caveats

max_deposit null: no cap exists in R.S. 9:3251-3254, the Civil Code lease title, or the AG guide. return_deadline_days 30 encodes the statutory 'one month' — render as 'one month' in page copy, not '30 days.' STALE-SOURCE TRAP: the AG's own guide (2016 vintage) and older secondary sites still state the pre-2019 penalty ('actual damages or $200'); Acts 2018, No. 416 replaced it with '$300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained, whichever is greater,' verified verbatim on legis.la.gov and FindLaw — debunk on page. The 9:3251(C) abandonment carve-out is unusually landlord-favorable and belongs in page copy. ACT 63 (2026): from 8/1/2026 the itemization window gains an extra 15 days — held in pending_legislation until effective; update this record after that date. Civil-law vocabulary: statute says lessor/lessee; 'Lessee's Deposit Act' is the AG guide's name for the part.

Statute citations

La. R.S. 9:3251 (A), (B), (C) Official source
La. R.S. 9:3252 (A), (B) Official source
La. R.S. 9:3253 Official source
La. R.S. 9:3254 Official source
La. AG, 'A Guide to Louisiana Landlord & Tenant Laws' (La. DOJ Consumer Protection Section) Lessee's Deposit Act chapter (penalty figure stale — see notes) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Louisiana Legislature site (legis.la.gov Law.aspx section pages) for La. R.S. 9:3251-3254 and 9:3258 and Civil Code arts. 2005, 2011, 2012, 2680-2683, 2693, 2695, 2727, and 2728, with every load-bearing section independently re-read on a second host (codes.findlaw.com; law.justia.com blocked fetches with 403). Enrolled text of 2026 Act No. 63 (HB 292) read in full from the legislature's document server, plus the bill-status page confirming signature 5/11/2026 and 8/1/2026 effective date. Cross-checked against the Louisiana Attorney General's official guide 'A Guide to Louisiana Landlord & Tenant Laws' (La. DOJ Consumer Protection Section), noting that the guide's deposit-penalty figure ($200/actual damages) is stale — superseded by Acts 2018, No. 416. 2026 regular session swept for other relevant bills; none found beyond Act 63.