Ohio Security Deposit Law 2026: Limits, Deadlines & Deductions
- Is there really no maximum deposit in Ohio? Correct — § 5321.16 sets no cap of any kind. The constraints that do exist are division (A)'s 5% interest on the excess over the greater of $50 or one month's periodic rent, and division (B)'s 30-day itemization duty.
- How exactly is the 5% interest calculated? On the excess only: deposit minus the greater of $50 or one month's periodic rent, at 5% per annum, and only if the tenant remains in possession six months or more (§ 5321.16(A)). At $1,200 rent, a $1,800 deposit has…
- Does Ohio require a separate account, or telling the tenant which bank holds the deposit? No — not in § 5321.16. The section contains no account rule and no bank name-and-address disclosure duty. That disclosure claim appeared in the earlier version of this page and in many secondary summaries; it is not…
Ohio puts its whole deposit regime in one short section: Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16, which has just three divisions. Division (A) is the interest rule: a deposit in excess of fifty dollars or one month's periodic rent, whichever is greater, bears interest on the excess at five per cent per annum if the tenant remains in possession for six months or more, computed and paid annually by the landlord to the tenant. Division (B) controls the ending: on termination the deposit may be applied only to past due rent and to damages from the tenant's noncompliance with § 5321.05 or the rental agreement, every deduction must be itemized and identified in a written notice delivered together with the amount due within thirty days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession, and the tenant must supply a forwarding or new address in writing or lose the division (C) add-ons. Division (C) is the remedy: a landlord who fails to comply with division (B) owes the money due plus damages equal to the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees. The definition of the deposit itself is in § 5321.01(E).
The short version: Ohio sets no maximum deposit amount — § 5321.16 contains no cap at all. Interest is narrower than most summaries say: it runs at 5% per annum on the excess only — the part of the deposit above the greater of $50 or one month's periodic rent — and only when the tenant remains in possession six months or more; it is computed and paid annually to the tenant (§ 5321.16(A)). Section 5321.16 imposes no bank-disclosure duty and no separate-account rule — neither appears anywhere in its text. Diary 30 days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession for the itemized written notice and the amount due (§ 5321.16(B)), and get the tenant's written forwarding or new address on file, because without it the tenant is not entitled to damages or attorney's fees under division (C) — though the money due itself is still recoverable.
What the earlier version of this page got wrong: (1) It stated the interest rule as 5% on "any deposit over $50 or one month's rent"; division (A) charges interest on the excess over whichever threshold is greater — at $1,200 rent with a $1,200 deposit the excess is $0 and no interest is owed at all. (2) It required the landlord to give the tenant the name and address of the bank holding the deposit — § 5321.16 contains no such duty, and no escrow or separate-account rule either; that claim is removed. (3) It framed the penalty as punishment for withholding "in bad faith"; division (C) contains no bad-faith element — the trigger is that the landlord fails to comply with division (B), and the recovery is the money due together with damages equal to the amount wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney's fees. (4) It said a tenant who withholds a forwarding address "forfeits the right to sue" and that the landlord should send the money to the last known address; division (B) bars only damages and attorney's fees under division (C), says nothing about a last-known-address mailing, and leaves the right to recover the money due intact. (5) It defined a security deposit as covering money given to secure performance "(including prepaid rent)"; § 5321.01(E) contains no prepaid-rent gloss — it is any deposit of money or property to secure performance under a rental agreement. (6) Its FAQ said Ohio law "expressly provides" that the tenant cannot apply the deposit to the last month's rent and that the landlord may charge a late fee for trying; no such sentence exists in § 5321.16 or § 5321.05, and both claims are removed below. (7) It ran the 30-day clock from when the tenant "gives up occupancy"; division (B) runs it from termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession.
Ohio's 30-day clock, the annual 5%-on-the-excess interest duty, and division (C)'s double-in-effect exposure make the paperwork the whole game — a dated itemization delivered with the amount due is what compliance looks like. The Security Deposit Disposition & Deadline Tracker ($14.95) keeps your deadlines, deductions, and interest anniversaries in one spreadsheet so the clock never sneaks up on you.
The statute table
| Citation | What it says (one line) |
|---|---|
| Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.01(E) | Definition: a "security deposit" is any deposit of money or property to secure performance by the tenant under a rental agreement. |
| Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16 | Deposit cap: none — the section sets no maximum amount. |
| Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(A) | Interest: a deposit in excess of $50 or one month's periodic rent, whichever is greater, bears interest on the excess at 5% per annum if the tenant remains in possession six months or more; computed and paid annually by the landlord to the tenant. |
| Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(B) | Permitted application: on termination, the deposit may be applied to past due rent and to damages the landlord suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with § 5321.05 or the rental agreement. |
| Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(B) | Itemization and deadline: any deduction must be itemized and identified in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due, within 30 days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. |
| Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(B) | Forwarding address: the tenant shall provide a forwarding or new address in writing; failure means the tenant is not entitled to damages or attorney's fees under division (C). |
| Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(C) | Penalty: if the landlord fails to comply with division (B), the tenant may recover the property and money due, together with damages equal to the amount wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorney's fees. |
| Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.05 | Tenant obligations: the duties division (B) incorporates by reference — keeping the premises safe and sanitary, proper waste and fixture care, no intentional or negligent destruction or damage, and the other duties listed in § 5321.05(A). |
Limits: how much can you charge?
Section 5321.16 sets no cap. There is no maximum deposit amount anywhere in the section — not one month, not two months, no figure at all. What you charge is a market and lease question, not a statutory one. Two consequences follow from the text that does exist:
- The § 5321.01(E) definition is the whole scope rule. A security deposit is any deposit of money or property to secure performance by the tenant under a rental agreement. The definition contains no prepaid-rent sentence and no "however denominated" clause — work from the sentence that is there, and treat money taken to secure performance as deposit money governed by § 5321.16.
- A bigger deposit buys a bigger division (A) interest base. Interest is charged on the excess over the greater of $50 or one month's periodic rent (see the interest section below), so every dollar collected above one month's rent accrues 5% a year once the six-month trigger is met. Check your figures with the Security Deposit Max Checker.
The 30-day deadline, precisely
Division (B) controls the ending. Upon termination of the rental agreement, deposit money may be applied to the two permitted categories only (past due rent, and § 5321.05 / rental-agreement noncompliance damages). Any deduction shall be itemized and identified by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due, within thirty days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. The same division puts one duty on the tenant: the tenant shall provide the landlord in writing with a forwarding address or new address to which the written notice and the amount due may be sent. Diary the date with the Security Deposit Deadline Finder.
When the clocks actually start
- Itemization and amount due (§ 5321.16(B)): 30 days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. Both must have occurred — a terminated agreement with the tenant still in possession has not started this clock, and neither has a surrendered unit under an agreement that has not terminated.
- Interest trigger (§ 5321.16(A)): measured by the tenant remaining in possession — six months or more switches the duty on. It is a possession test, not a lease-term or a deposit-held test.
- Interest payment (§ 5321.16(A)): computed and paid annually by the landlord to the tenant — an anniversary duty during the tenancy, not a sum that first falls due at move-out.
- Forwarding address (§ 5321.16(B)): no separate clock in the text; the address is what the written notice and the amount due are sent to, so collect it in writing at or before move-out — its absence changes the tenant's division (C) rights, not your division (B) duties.
A worked example
Rent is $1,200 a month; you hold a $1,800 deposit — lawful, because § 5321.16 sets no cap. The tenant remained in possession twelve months. The rental agreement terminates and the tenant delivers possession on Monday, March 2, 2026.
- Interest (§ 5321.16(A)): the threshold is the greater of $50 or one month's periodic rent — $1,200. The excess is $1,800 − $1,200 = $600. At 5% per annum for the year, interest is $30, computed and paid annually to the tenant. Had the deposit been $1,200, the excess would be $0 and no division (A) interest would be owed at all.
- Itemized written notice and the amount due are due within 30 days after March 2, 2026: Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
- Lawful deductions total $450 (past due rent and documented § 5321.05 noncompliance damages). Balance: $1,800 − $450 = $1,350.
- Deliver the itemization and the $1,350 by April 1, 2026 and division (B) is satisfied. Fail division (B) and keep the $1,350 instead, and division (C) prices it: the tenant recovers the $1,350 due plus $1,350 in damages — $2,700, plus reasonable attorney's fees.
Deductions and the itemized list
Division (B) permits applying deposit money on termination toward two categories only:
1. Past due rent (§ 5321.16(B)). Rent that is past due — stated flatly, with no further qualifier in the text.
2. Noncompliance damages (§ 5321.16(B)). The amount of damages the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with § 5321.05 or the rental agreement. Section 5321.05(A) is the tenant-duty list — keeping the occupied premises safe and sanitary, disposing of waste properly, keeping plumbing fixtures clean, using fixtures properly, complying with housing, health, and safety codes, and personally refraining from (and forbidding guests from) intentionally or negligently destroying, defacing, damaging, or removing any part of the premises. Damage with no § 5321.05 duty and no rental-agreement term behind it is outside this paragraph — the category is causation-based, not a general damage bucket. The section states no wear-and-tear sentence of its own; the tests in the text are past-due rent, noncompliance, and damages actually suffered.
Everything you apply must be itemized and identified in the written notice; an unitemized application is not completed by being substantively fair. The statute states no depreciation schedule and no receipt-or-estimate rule, so keep invoices, dated photos, and move-in/move-out records behind every line. Build the letter with the Security Deposit Deduction Letter Generator.
Move-out compliance checklist
1. At collection, run the division (A) threshold math — record the rent, the deposit, and the excess over the greater of $50 or one month's periodic rent. Everything above that threshold accrues 5% once possession reaches six months.
2. Calendar the interest anniversary — division (A) interest is computed and paid annually to the tenant while the tenancy runs, not settled for the first time at move-out.
3. Get the forwarding or new address in writing — ask in the lease and again in every move-out communication. Without it the tenant loses division (C) damages and attorney's fees, but your division (B) duties are unchanged.
4. Log both end dates the day they happen — termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. The division (B) clock needs both; diary day 30 from the later one.
5. Inspect at once and sort every charge into past due rent or § 5321.05 / rental-agreement noncompliance damages — striking any charge with neither basis in the text.
6. Itemize, identify, and deliver by day 30: the written notice itemizing and identifying every deduction, delivered together with the amount due, to the forwarding or new address the tenant provided. Keep proof of delivery.
7. Never let the file go silent past day 30 — division (C) exposure is triggered by failure to comply with division (B) itself, and it doubles the cash consequence of whatever was wrongfully withheld, plus the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees.
Interest and where the money sits
Division (A) is the whole interest scheme, and its base is the most-misstated number in Ohio deposit law. The deposit must be in excess of fifty dollars or one month's periodic rent, whichever is greater, and interest is borne on the excess at five per cent per annum — not on the whole deposit, and not over whichever threshold is smaller. Run the three standard cases at $1,200 rent:
- Deposit $1,200: threshold $1,200, excess $0 — no division (A) interest, however long the tenancy.
- Deposit $800: the deposit does not exceed the $1,200 threshold at all — no division (A) interest.
- Deposit $1,800: excess $600 — $30 per year at 5%, once the tenant has remained in possession six months or more.
The trigger is possession: the duty attaches if the tenant remains in possession of the premises for six months or more, and the interest shall be computed and paid annually by the landlord to the tenant. It is the tenant who is paid, on an annual cycle. Estimate what is owed with the Security Deposit Interest Calculator.
Where the money sits, § 5321.16 says nothing: the section contains no separate-account or escrow requirement, no rule against commingling, and no duty to disclose the name or address of any bank. Earlier versions of this page stated a bank name-and-address disclosure duty as Ohio law; it is not in § 5321.16 and has been removed. The section likewise contains no transfer or successor rule and no unclaimed-deposit rule — on a sale or an unclaimed refund, § 5321.16 itself gives no instruction, so do not cite it for one.
The penalty, spelled out
Division (C) is the whole penalty scheme, in one sentence: if the landlord fails to comply with division (B), the tenant may recover the property and money due, together with damages in an amount equal to the amount wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorney's fees. Price it carefully — summaries routinely add parts the sentence does not contain:
- The money due plus an equal amount in damages (§ 5321.16(C)). On the worked example, failing division (B) and withholding the whole $1,350 balance exposes $1,350 due + $1,350 damages = $2,700, plus reasonable attorney's fees. The multiplier rides on the amount wrongfully withheld, not automatically on the whole deposit: wrongfully withhold only the $450 of deductions and the division (C) figure is $450 due plus $450 damages, plus fees.
- The trigger is noncompliance with division (B), stated without a fault word (§ 5321.16(C)). The text says "fails to comply with division (B)" — a late notice, a missing itemization, or an amount due never delivered is the failure the sentence describes. It contains no "bad faith" element; earlier versions of this page that made bad faith the test overstated what a tenant must show under the text.
- The forwarding address limits the add-ons, not the money (§ 5321.16(B)). A tenant who failed to provide the forwarding or new address in writing shall not be entitled to damages or attorney's fees under division (C) — the equal-amount damages and the fees fall away, but the property and money due remain recoverable. It is not a forfeiture of the deposit.
- What division (C) does not say. It awards no court costs as a separate item, states no burden-of-proof rule, and sets no cap on the damages beyond the amount wrongfully withheld itself.
FAQ
Is there really no maximum deposit in Ohio?
Correct — § 5321.16 sets no cap of any kind. The constraints that do exist are division (A)'s 5% interest on the excess over the greater of $50 or one month's periodic rent, and division (B)'s 30-day itemization duty.
How exactly is the 5% interest calculated?
On the excess only: deposit minus the greater of $50 or one month's periodic rent, at 5% per annum, and only if the tenant remains in possession six months or more (§ 5321.16(A)). At $1,200 rent, a $1,800 deposit has a $600 excess and accrues $30 a year; a $1,200 deposit has a $0 excess and accrues nothing. The landlord computes and pays it annually to the tenant.
Does Ohio require a separate account, or telling the tenant which bank holds the deposit?
No — not in § 5321.16. The section contains no account rule and no bank name-and-address disclosure duty. That disclosure claim appeared in the earlier version of this page and in many secondary summaries; it is not in the statute's text.
When does the 30-day return clock actually start?
On the pair in § 5321.16(B): termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. The written notice itemizing and identifying every deduction must be delivered together with the amount due within 30 days after both have occurred.
What can the deposit actually be applied to?
Two things (§ 5321.16(B)): past due rent, and damages suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with § 5321.05 or the rental agreement. Every deduction must be itemized and identified in the written notice.
What happens if the landlord misses the deadline or skips the itemization?
That is a failure to comply with division (B), and under § 5321.16(C) the tenant may recover the property and money due, plus damages equal to the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees. Division (C) states no bad-faith requirement — noncompliance with (B) is the trigger in the text.
The tenant never gave a forwarding address. What changes?
Under § 5321.16(B), the tenant shall not be entitled to damages or attorney's fees under division (C). The money due itself is still owed and recoverable — the bar reaches only the division (C) add-ons. The statute does not direct you to mail anything to a last known address; ask for the address in writing early and keep the request in the file.
Can the tenant apply the deposit to the last month's rent?
Section 5321.16 contains no provision on the point — neither permission nor an express prohibition, and no late-fee rule for trying. What the text does say is that the deposit secures the tenant's performance (§ 5321.01(E)) and may be applied by the landlord, on termination, to past due rent and noncompliance damages (§ 5321.16(B)). The earlier version of this page claimed the statute "expressly provides" a ban; that sentence is not in the Revised Code text and has been removed. Treat last-month application as a lease-terms question, not a § 5321.16 rule.
Read the statute yourself
Primary sources:
- Section 5321.16 — Procedures for security deposits (Ohio Laws, codes.ohio.gov, official) — official full text of Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16, divisions (A)–(C), effective November 4, 1974. Verified live October 15, 2026.
- Section 5321.01 — Definitions (Ohio Laws, codes.ohio.gov, official) — official text including the § 5321.01(E) definition of "security deposit." Verified live October 15, 2026.
- Section 5321.05 — Tenant obligations (Ohio Laws, codes.ohio.gov, official) — official text of the tenant duties that § 5321.16(B) incorporates by reference. Verified live October 15, 2026.
- Chapter 5321 — Landlords and Tenants (Ohio Laws, codes.ohio.gov, official) — official chapter index for the full landlord-tenant chapter. Verified live October 15, 2026.
- Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16 (Justia) — the section in Justia's Ohio Revised Code, for cross-checking the division (A)–(C) text against the official version. Verified live October 15, 2026. Cornell LII's Ohio Revised Code URL for this section resolved to the Ohio Administrative Code index rather than the statute text on October 15, 2026, so it is not linked.
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Last verified: October 15, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Verify with a licensed Ohio attorney before acting.