How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Rhode Island?

1 month's rent — The ceiling covers any security deposit 'however denominated,' so pet deposits and other security-type charges count against the same one-month limit (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(a)).

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

20 days. The clock starts on the later of three events: (1) termination of the tenancy, (2) delivery of possession, or (3) the tenant's providing the landlord with a forwarding address for the purpose of receiving the deposit (§ 34-18-19(b)).

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

A landlord who fails to meet the 20-day return and itemization requirements owes the tenant the amount due plus damages equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney fees (§ 34-18-19(c)).

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Rhode Island?

No — Rhode Island does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ch. 34-18) requires no interest on security deposits and no separate or escrow account. Section 34-18-19 is the chapter's only deposit statute.

What are the security deposit rules in Rhode Island?

Verified July 11, 2026 All Rhode Island topics →

Rhode Island caps security deposits at one month's rent, and the landlord must return the deposit with a written itemized statement within 20 days after the later of the tenancy ending, the tenant moving out, or the tenant providing a forwarding address.

Cited to R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19 (a)-(h) and 2 more Rhode Island statutes · Verified July 11, 2026

The cap applies to any deposit 'however denominated,' so pet deposits and similar charges count toward the same one-month limit; the one exception is a furnished apartment with at least $5,000 worth of furniture, where the landlord may collect a separate furniture deposit of up to one more month's rent on the same 20-day return clock. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, reasonable cleaning and trash-disposal costs, and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, all itemized in writing. A landlord who misses the deadline or skips the itemization owes the tenant the amount due plus double the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney fees. No interest and no separate bank account are required, lease waivers of these rules are void, and a buyer of the property inherits the obligations.

Rhode Island security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	1 month's rent — The ceiling covers any security deposit 'however denominated,' so pet deposits and other security-type charges count against the same one-month limit (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(a)). The statute bars a landlord from demanding or receiving a security deposit exceeding one month's periodic rent. Sole express carve-out: a landlord renting a furnished apartment whose furniture has a replacement value of $5,000 or more at lease execution may charge a separate furniture security deposit of up to one additional month's periodic rent (§ 34-18-19(e)), subject to its own parallel 20-day return and itemization track (§ 34-18-19(f)). No age-based or senior deposit variation exists — Rhode Island's age tier is in the rent-increase statute, not the deposit statute.
Return deadline	20 days
Deadline conditions	The clock starts on the later of three events: (1) termination of the tenancy, (2) delivery of possession, or (3) the tenant's providing the landlord with a forwarding address for the purpose of receiving the deposit (§ 34-18-19(b)). The itemized notice and the balance due are both owed within that twenty (20) day window. Because the forwarding address is one of the later-of triggers, the landlord's 20-day clock does not start running until the tenant supplies one — tenants who never provide a forwarding address leave the deadline open. The furniture security deposit runs on the same 20-day later-of clock (§ 34-18-19(f)).
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	Deductions must be itemized by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the balance due (§ 34-18-19(b)). Permitted deductions: unpaid accrued rent, reasonable cleaning expenses, reasonable trash-disposal expenses, and physical damage to the premises beyond ordinary wear and tear caused by the tenant's noncompliance with § 34-18-24. 'Ordinary wear and tear' is defined at § 34-18-11 as deterioration from normal nonabusive living, including deterioration caused by the landlord's own failure to prepare for expected conditions or meet the landlord's obligations. Furniture deposits: only reasonable cleaning, repair, and physical damage to the furniture beyond ordinary wear and tear (§ 34-18-19(f)).
Separate account required	No
Interest owed to tenant	No
Account & interest rules	Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ch. 34-18) requires no interest on security deposits and no separate or escrow account. Section 34-18-19 is the chapter's only deposit statute.
Pet deposits	No separate pet-deposit statute. Because § 34-18-19(a) caps any security deposit 'however denominated,' a refundable pet deposit counts toward the one-month ceiling and follows the same 20-day return, itemization, and double-damages rules. The furniture deposit for furnished units (§ 34-18-19(e)) is the only express additional-deposit authorization.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Not addressed by statute
Penalty for violation	A landlord who fails to meet the 20-day return and itemization requirements owes the tenant the amount due plus damages equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney fees (§ 34-18-19(c)). Other damages under the chapter remain available (§ 34-18-19(d)).
Tenant forwarding-address duty	Providing a forwarding address is one of the three later-of triggers that starts the landlord's 20-day return clock (§ 34-18-19(b)) — the statute imposes no affirmative duty, but a tenant who wants the deposit back promptly must supply a forwarding address, because until then the deadline has not begun to run.

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

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

Notes and caveats

The 20-day clock starts on the last of three triggers — Most charts flatten this to '20 days after move-out.' The statute runs the 20 days from the later of termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, or the tenant's giving the landlord a forwarding address (§ 34-18-19(b)) — so the forwarding-address trigger can start the clock much later than the move.
The furniture-deposit carve-out has a $5,000 threshold — The separate furniture security deposit available for a furnished apartment (§ 34-18-19(e), added by P.L. 2015, ch. 125/134) requires furniture with a replacement value of $5,000 or more, valued at lease execution.
No interest, no escrow, no receipt — silence in the statute — Nothing in chapter 34-18 requires deposit interest, a separate or escrow account, or a receipt, and there is no senior or furnished-unit variation beyond the furniture deposit. Nothing in the chapter's section index addresses any of them, so those blanks report silence in the law, not gaps in the research.
Small owner-occupied buildings are not exempt — The § 34-18-8 exclusions do not carve out owner-occupied small buildings the way Maine- and Massachusetts-style acts do — the chapter reaches ordinary small landlords.
Nonrefundable fees: the statute simply does not say — No Rhode Island statute addresses whether a deposit-like charge may be nonrefundable, which is why that field is left blank rather than answered yes or no. Since January 1, 2025 the § 34-18-15(a) regime (P.L. 2024, ch. 308/309) has required every fee beyond rent to be disclosed — in the lease's rent section, or in writing where there is no lease — with undisclosed fees recoverable by the tenant. A nonrefundable charge that functions as security for damage also risks recharacterization under the 'however denominated' cap.
Application fees are banned except actual-cost checks — Since January 1, 2024, § 34-18-59 bars application fees other than a pass-through of the actual cost of a background or credit check.
The code site lags the 2026 Survivor Act — Since July 1, 2026, § 34-18-63(e) (Survivor Early Lease Termination Act, P.L. 2026, ch. 147/148) restates the 20-day refund duty for survivors who terminate a tenancy early; it changes nothing about how this section works. The act is in force but not yet displayed on the official code site — as of July 12, 2026 the chapter index there still ended at § 34-18-62.
Where these figures come from — Every figure in this section is taken from the text of § 34-18-19 as published on the Rhode Island General Assembly's official statute server.

Common questions: Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?: 1 month's rent — The ceiling covers any security deposit 'however denominated,' so pet deposits and other security-type charges count against the same one-month limit (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(a)).
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Rhode Island?: 20 days. The clock starts on the later of three events: (1) termination of the tenancy, (2) delivery of possession, or (3) the tenant's providing the landlord with a forwarding address for the purpose of receiving the deposit (§ 34-18-19(b)).
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Rhode Island?: A landlord who fails to meet the 20-day return and itemization requirements owes the tenant the amount due plus damages equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney fees (§ 34-18-19(c)).
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Rhode Island?: No — Rhode Island does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ch. 34-18) requires no interest on security deposits and no separate or escrow account. Section 34-18-19 is the chapter's only deposit statute.
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Rhode Island?: Not addressed by statute.

Statute citations

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19 (a)-(h) (verified 2026) Official source
R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-11 (definitions: 'ordinary wear and tear', 'security deposit') (verified 2026) Official source
R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-24 (tenant maintenance duties referenced by the deduction rule) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Rhode Island General Assembly site (webserver.rilegislature.gov): sections 34-18-19, 34-18-16.1, and 34-18-26 each read twice independently, verbatim, with every key figure matching (one-month deposit cap; $5,000 furniture threshold and separate one-month furniture deposit; 20-day return after the later of termination, delivery of possession, or forwarding address; twice-the-amount-wrongfully-withheld penalty plus attorney fees; 60-day rent-increase notice and 120-day notice for month-to-month tenants over 62; two days' entry notice). The 60/120 rent-increase figures were additionally reconciled against the enacted chapter text of P.L. 2024, ch. 243 (H 7304A, effective upon passage 2024-06-24), which shows the strike-through amendment from the former 30/60. Supporting sections read once (34-18-8, 34-18-11, 34-18-15, 34-18-35, 34-18-37, 34-18-45, 34-18-58, 34-18-59, 34-18-61, 34-18-62) plus the full ch. 34-18 section index as the sweep basis for verified negatives (no deposit interest or escrow requirement, no late-fee cap or grace statute, no rent-increase frequency limit, no preemption statute). Session-law sweeps: 2025 confirmed absorbed into the code (34-18-62, P.L. 2025 ch. 395/396, eff. 2025-07-02, is live); the full 2026 public-laws-by-subject table (Law Revision office, session adjourned sine die 2026-06-11) was swept — the only on-topic enactments are P.L. 2026 ch. 147/148 (Survivor Early Lease Termination Act, new secs. 34-18-63 to 34-18-67 plus amended 34-18-11 definitions, EFFECTIVE 2026-07-01 and in force but not yet displayed on the code site; no change to any field in this record) and ch. 165/166 (shoreline rental disclosure, out of scope). Rent control: 2025 bills S0580/H5264 (4% cap), H5676 (10%+CPI), and H5954 (Providence enabling) all died; 2026 refile S2271 died at sine-die adjournment (absent from the enacted-laws sweep); Providence's 4% rent-stabilization ordinance passed the city council 2026-04-16, was vetoed by Mayor Smiley 2026-04-17, and the override failed in May 2026 — no rent control is in force anywhere in Rhode Island.