11 records
Does my landlord have to pay interest on my security deposit, and how much?
11 records, one fact each. Every value is transcribed from the source that states it and carries the sentence it was taken from: 11 sources across 11 sites, last checked 2026-09-02, due for re-check by 2027-03-01. Every record is listed below, each linking the page its value came from.
About this data
Most states let a landlord hold a security deposit with no interest owed at all. A minority require it — but the rate is rarely a flat number: Connecticut and Chicago reset their rate every year by regulator notice (Connecticut 0.49% for 2026, Chicago 0.01% for 2026), Massachusetts and New Hampshire peg it to the actual bank account or savings rate, and Minnesota is the one flat statutory rate (1% simple, non-compounded). Several also gate the duty on a condition a flat yes/no chart drops — Maryland only above a $50 deposit held 6+ months, New York only in buildings of six or more units, New Hampshire and Massachusetts only once the deposit has been held a full year. Illinois is two independent regimes, not one: the state law (765 ILCS 715) applies only to landlords owning 25 or more units and reads the largest in-state bank's passbook rate, while Chicago's own ordinance applies to any building inside city limits at a separately city-published rate — a landlord with five Chicago units owes interest under the city rule regardless of the state law's 25-unit floor. Each record carries the rate or rate-setting mechanism exactly as the statute or regulator prints it, any condition that gates the duty, and the citation, backed by a verbatim quote from the state's own statute or the regulator's own rate notice. Answers 'does my state require interest on a security deposit', 'what is the security deposit interest rate in Connecticut this year', and 'does the Illinois interest law apply to my building'.
The data
| Jurisdiction | Interest required | Rate or how it's set | Condition that triggers the duty | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | Yes | not less than the deposit index | No interest for any month in which the tenant was more than ten days late with rent, unless the landlord imposed a late charge for it | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(i); “deposit index” defined at § 36a-26 |
| Illinois | Yes | a rate equal to the interest paid by the largest commercial bank, as measured by total assets, having its main banking premises in this State on minimum deposit passbook savings accounts as of December 31 of the calendar year immediately preceding the inception of the rental agreement | Only where the building or contiguous complex contains 25 or more units, and only on a deposit held more than 6 months | 765 ILCS 715/1 (Security Deposit Interest Act) |
| Illinois — Chicago | Yes | 0.01% | Interest is owed on a security deposit or prepaid rent held more than six months | Municipal Code of Chicago §§ 5-12-081, 5-12-082 |
| Maryland | Yes | simple interest which has accrued at the daily U.S. Treasury yield curve rate for 1 year, as of the first business day of each year, or 1.5% a year, whichever is greater | Only on a deposit of $50 or more, and only once the landlord has held it for at least 6 months | Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(e) |
| Massachusetts | Yes | interest at the rate of five per cent per year, or other such lesser amount of interest as has been received from the bank where the deposit has been held | Only once the landlord has held the deposit for a year or longer from the start of the tenancy | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 15B(3)(b) |
| Minnesota | Yes | simple noncompounded interest at the rate of one percent per annum | No holding-period or minimum-deposit threshold; any interest amount less than $1 is excluded | Minn. Stat. § 504B.178, subd. 2 |
| New Hampshire | Yes | a rate equal to the interest rate paid on regular savings accounts in the New Hampshire bank, savings and loan association, or credit union in which it is deposited | Only once the landlord has held the deposit for a period of one year or longer | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:6, IV(a) |
| New York | Yes | a rate which shall be the prevailing rate earned by other such deposits made with banking organizations in such area | Only where the rented property contains six or more family dwelling units | N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103(2), (2-a) |
| North Dakota | Yes | a federally insured interest-bearing savings or checking account for the benefit of the tenant | Not owed where the period of occupancy was less than nine months | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1(1), (3) |
| Ohio | Yes | interest on the excess at the rate of five per cent per annum | Only on the part of the deposit above $50 or one month's periodic rent, whichever is greater, and only if the tenant remains in possession for six months or more | Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(A) |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | The balance of the interest paid shall be the money of the tenant making the deposit | Applies only after the second anniversary of the deposit of escrow funds | 68 P.S. § 250.511b (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, § 511.2) |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 11 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- cga.ct.govhttps://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_831.htm
- chicago.govhttps://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/doh/provdrs/landlords/svcs/security-deposit-interest-rates.html
- ilga.govhttps://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=2203&ChapterID=62
- mgaleg.maryland.govhttps://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp§ion=8-203&enactments=false
- malegislature.govhttps://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleI/Chapter186/Section15B
- revisor.mn.govhttps://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/504B.178
- gencourt.state.nh.ushttps://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-6.htm
- newyork.public.lawhttps://newyork.public.law/laws/n.y._general_obligations_law_section_7-103
- ndlegis.govhttps://www.ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf
- codes.ohio.govhttps://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5321.16
- legis.state.pa.ushttps://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/HTM/1951/0/0020..HTM
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.