Your deposit is your money the whole time the landlord holds it. In a number of states — and in many cities with their own rental ordinances — the landlord must keep the deposit in a separate, interest-bearing account and pay or credit you the interest it earns, either annually or when the tenancy ends. Where that rule applies and the landlord kept the interest, you can ask for it.
The catch: this varies enormously. Many states have no interest requirement at all, others apply it only to larger buildings or longer tenancies, some let the landlord keep a small administrative portion, and cities can add their own rule on top. So the first job is to confirm what your state and city actually require — don’t assume.
Start with the state deadlines & penalties table for your state’s core rules and statute, then search “[your state] security deposit interest” and “[your city] security deposit interest” to find the specific interest rule (rate, timing, and any allowed admin fee). Put those figures in the brackets below — never guess a rate.
[Your name / address / contact]
[Date]
[Landlord name / address]
Re: Interest owed on security deposit
[former rental address, unit #]
Dear [Landlord name],
I rented [former rental address] from [move-in date] to [move-out date]
and paid a security deposit of $[deposit amount].
Under [state / city statute or ordinance citation], you were required to
[hold my deposit in an interest-bearing account and] pay or credit me the
interest that accrued on it [annually / at the end of the tenancy]. I have
not received that interest, or any accounting of it.
Please send the accrued interest of $[interest amount] to my address
above within [15] days. If you calculate a different figure, please send a
written statement showing the rate, the period covered, and any
administrative amount the law allows you to retain, so I can confirm it.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
[Your printed name]
How to use it
- Confirm your state/city actually requires interest, and pull the rate and timing from that rule — not from memory and not from another state.
- Fill in
$[interest amount]only if you’ve calculated it from the required rate; otherwise ask the landlord to produce the accounting (the letter already does). - Attach proof you paid the deposit, and your move-in/move-out dates for the accrual period.
- Send it by certified mail and keep a copy — see how to send certified mail.
Don’t assume interest is owed — confirm the rule first. Demanding interest where your state and city don’t require it just weakens the rest of your claim. But the reverse is also true: where a rule does exist, failing to hold the deposit properly or to pay the interest can carry its own penalty on top of the deposit — so it’s worth checking carefully.
Interest is usually a small add-on to the main claim. If the landlord is also withholding the deposit itself, fold it into your total figure and your formal demand letter rather than sending a separate letter.