Pennsylvania · Security deposits · Last updated November 15, 2026
Pennsylvania security deposit rules: limit, return deadline and interest
In Pennsylvania, a landlord has 30 days after the lease ends, or after the tenant surrenders the unit and the landlord accepts it, whichever comes sooner, to give the tenant a written list of damages and pay back the rest of the deposit (68 P.S. § 250.512). The deposit can’t be more than two months’ rent during the opening 12 months of a lease, or more than one month’s rent after that (68 P.S. § 250.511a). A landlord who misses the 30-day list forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit.
Quick facts
| Return deadline | Within 30 days of the end of the lease, or of surrender and acceptance of the unit, whichever comes sooner |
|---|---|
| What is due in those 30 days | A written list of damages, with payment of the deposit less the actual damages |
| Deposit limit, opening 12 months of a lease | Two months’ rent |
| Deposit limit after that, and in any renewal | One month’s rent |
| Escrow account | Funds over $100, at a federally or state regulated institution, with written notice to the tenant |
| Interest | After the second anniversary of the deposit. The tenant gets the account’s interest less 1% of the deposit a year. |
| Penalty | No list in 30 days: no right to keep any of the deposit. No payment in 30 days: double the amount owed. |
| Statutes | Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 §§ 511.1, 511.2, 511.3, 512 (68 P.S. §§ 250.511a, 250.511b, 250.511c, 250.512) |
Pennsylvania deposit return deadline calculator
Pick the date to see each deadline.
Section 512 gives one 30-day period for both the written list and the payment. It runs from the end of the lease or from surrender and acceptance of the unit, whichever comes sooner. The calculator counts 30 calendar days from the date you enter. Section 512 itself doesn’t say how the days are counted.
How much deposit a Pennsylvania landlord can ask for
Section 511.1 sets two limits, and the lease year decides which one applies. During the opening 12 months of any lease, a landlord can’t require more than two months’ rent as a deposit. During the second and later years of the lease, or during any renewal of the original lease, the amount required can’t be more than one month’s rent.
On a unit that rents for $1,400 a month, that is a limit of $2,800 during the opening 12 months and $1,400 after that. The section says the amount required “may not exceed one month’s rent” from then on. It doesn’t spell out when or how the difference goes back to the tenant.
The section covers money deposited “for the payment of damages to the leasehold premises and/or default in rent.” It applies to rentals of residential property, and a tenant can’t waive it.
- Opening 12 months of a lease
- No more than two months’ rent. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.1(a) (68 P.S. § 250.511a)
- Second and later years, and renewals
- No more than one month’s rent. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.1(b) (68 P.S. § 250.511a)
- After five years
- Once a tenant has been in possession for five years or more, a rent increase does not require a matching increase in the security deposit. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.1(d) (68 P.S. § 250.511a)
- Waiver
- Any attempted waiver of the section by a tenant, by contract or otherwise, is void and unenforceable. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.1(f) (68 P.S. § 250.511a)
Escrow accounts and interest
Section 511.2 says funds over $100 deposited with a landlord on a residential lease go into an escrow account at an institution regulated by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Comptroller of the Currency or the Pennsylvania Department of Banking. When funds go into an escrow account, the landlord notifies each tenant in writing of the name and address of the banking institution and the amount of the deposit.
The same section covers interest, and its last subsection says the provisions of the section apply after the second anniversary of the deposit, not before. From that point, on an interest-bearing escrow account, the landlord may keep a sum equal to 1% a year of the deposit for administrative expenses. The rest of the interest paid belongs to the tenant and is paid each year on the anniversary date of the start of the lease.
Here is the arithmetic on a $1,500 deposit in an account paying 3% a year. The account earns $45 for the year. The landlord’s 1% is $15. The tenant is paid $30. The act sets no interest rate of its own, so the figure depends on what the account pays. If the account pays 1% or less, the landlord’s $15 is at least as large as the interest and no balance is left to pay.
- Which deposits
- All funds over $100 deposited with a landlord to secure a rental agreement on residential property. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.2(a) (68 P.S. § 250.511b)
- Where the money is held
- An escrow account of an institution regulated by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Comptroller of the Currency or the Pennsylvania Department of Banking. The section mentions both interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing escrow accounts. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.2(a) (68 P.S. § 250.511b)
- Written notice to the tenant
- The name and address of the banking institution where the deposit is held, and the amount of the deposit. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.2(a) (68 P.S. § 250.511b)
- Landlord’s share of the interest
- A sum equal to 1% a year of the security money deposited, in place of all other administrative and custodial expenses. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.2(b) (68 P.S. § 250.511b)
- Tenant’s share
- The balance of the interest paid, paid to the tenant annually on the anniversary date of the start of the lease. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.2(b) (68 P.S. § 250.511b)
- When the section applies
- After the second anniversary of the deposit of escrow funds. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.2(c) (68 P.S. § 250.511b)
- Bond instead of escrow
- A landlord may, in place of depositing escrow funds, secure repayment with a guarantee bond issued by a bonding company authorized to do business in Pennsylvania. The bond backs the return of the escrow funds, less the cost of necessary repairs and including interest, at the end of the lease or on surrender and acceptance of the unit. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.3 (68 P.S. § 250.511c)
The 30-day list of damages and refund
Section 512(a) gives the landlord 30 days from the termination of the lease, or from surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises, whichever comes sooner. Inside that period the landlord gives the tenant a written list of any damages the landlord claims the tenant is liable for. Payment travels with the list: the deposit, including any unpaid interest, less the actual amount of damages caused by the tenant.
Take a $1,500 deposit with no unpaid interest. The lease ends June 30, so day 30 is July 30. The landlord finds $300 of damage caused by the tenant. By July 30 the tenant gets a written list showing the $300 and a payment of $1,200.
The section does not say how the list is delivered, and it has no table of allowed charges. It speaks of “the actual amount of damages to the leasehold premises caused by the tenant.” It also says nothing in the section stops a landlord from refusing to return the deposit for nonpayment of rent or for the breach of any other condition in the lease.
- Deadline
- Within 30 days of termination of the lease or upon surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises, whichever comes sooner. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(a) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
- Written list
- A written list of any damages to the leasehold premises for which the landlord claims the tenant is liable. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(a) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
- Payment with the list
- The difference between the sum deposited, including any unpaid interest, and the actual amount of damages to the premises caused by the tenant. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(a) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
- Unpaid rent and lease breaches
- The landlord may refuse to return the escrow fund for nonpayment of rent or for the breach of any other condition in the lease. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(a) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
- Tenant’s new address
- A tenant who does not give the landlord a new address in writing, upon termination of the lease or upon surrender and acceptance of the unit, relieves the landlord from any liability under section 512. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(e) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
If the list or the payment is late
Section 512 has two separate penalties. One is for a missing list and one is for a missing payment.
A landlord who does not provide the written list within 30 days forfeits all rights to withhold any portion of the deposit, including unpaid interest, and all rights to bring suit against the tenant for damages to the premises. With the $1,500 deposit and $300 of damage above, a list sent on day 31 means the full $1,500 is owed and the $300 can’t be recovered in a suit for damage to the unit.
A landlord who does not pay the tenant the difference within 30 days is liable for double the amount by which the deposit, including unpaid interest, exceeds the actual damages as determined by a court. With the same numbers, the difference is $1,200, and double that is $2,400. The burden of proving the actual damages is on the landlord.
- No list within 30 days
- The landlord forfeits all rights to withhold any portion of the sums held in escrow, including unpaid interest, or to bring suit against the tenant for damages to the leasehold premises. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(b) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
- No payment within 30 days
- The landlord is liable for double the amount by which the sum deposited, including unpaid interest, exceeds the actual damages caused by the tenant, as determined by a court. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(c) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
- Burden of proof
- The burden of proof of actual damages caused by the tenant to the leasehold premises is on the landlord. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(c) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
- Waiver
- Any attempted waiver of section 512 by a tenant, by contract or otherwise, is void and unenforceable. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 512(d) (68 P.S. § 250.512)
What this page doesn’t cover
This page covers ordinary residential rentals under the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951. Sections 511.1 and 512 say they apply to residential property and residential leaseholds, and section 512 says it does not apply to commercial leaseholds.
The act’s notice to quit section sets mobile home park spaces apart and points to a separate act. This page does not cover them. Subsidized and public housing can carry program rules on deposits that sit on top of state law, and this page does not cover those. Cities can also add their own rental rules, so check with your municipality.
Apart from the written escrow notice, the act’s deposit sections do not require a move-in inspection, a deposit receipt or a set way to deliver the list of damages. They also set no interest rate.
- Residential leases
- Section 511.1 applies to the rental of residential property. Section 512 applies to residential leaseholds and not to commercial leaseholds. Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act §§ 511.1(e), 512(f) (68 P.S. §§ 250.511a, 250.512)
- Mobile home park spaces
- The act’s notice to quit section sets apart a mobile home space as defined in the Mobile Home Park Rights Act of November 24, 1976 (P.L.1176, No.261). Pa. Landlord and Tenant Act § 501(a) (68 P.S. § 250.501)
Questions landlords ask
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Pennsylvania?
30 days from the end of the lease, or from surrender and acceptance of the unit, whichever comes sooner. In that time the landlord gives the tenant a written list of damages and pays back the deposit less the actual damages (68 P.S. § 250.512).
What is the maximum security deposit in Pennsylvania?
Two months’ rent during the opening 12 months of a lease. One month’s rent during the second and later years and during any renewal of the original lease (68 P.S. § 250.511a).
Does a Pennsylvania landlord have to pay interest on a security deposit?
The interest rule in section 511.2 applies after the second anniversary of the deposit. From then on the tenant gets the interest paid on the escrow account, less a sum equal to 1% of the deposit a year that the landlord may keep, paid annually on the lease anniversary. The act sets no interest rate.
What happens if a Pennsylvania landlord doesn’t return the deposit in 30 days?
A landlord who doesn’t provide the written list in 30 days forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit or to sue for damage to the unit. A landlord who doesn’t pay what is owed in 30 days is liable for double the amount by which the deposit exceeds the actual damages (68 P.S. § 250.512(b), (c)).
Does a tenant have to give a forwarding address in Pennsylvania?
Section 512(e) says a tenant’s failure to give the landlord a new address in writing, upon termination of the lease or upon surrender and acceptance of the unit, relieves the landlord from any liability under section 512.
Can a Pennsylvania landlord keep the deposit for unpaid rent?
Section 512(a) says nothing in the section stops a landlord from refusing to return the escrow fund for nonpayment of rent or for the breach of any other condition in the lease.
Free templates
- Security deposit return kit: itemized return letter, wear-and-tear guide and move-out checklist.
- Move-in kit: inspection checklist and deposit receipt, signed by the tenant.
Keep every deposit and its dates on one ledger
Landlord’s Desk keeps a rent ledger for every tenant, shows who still owes and gets a late-rent reminder ready for your OK. Each property also shows your state’s deposit return deadline. No credit card needed to start. Create your account by December 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM Central and you’re a founding member: 60 days free from the day you choose a plan, then 30% off your first 12 monthly payments or your first yearly payment. Claim the offer by choosing a plan by March 1, 2027 at 11:59 PM Central.
Not legal advice. This page is general information that summarizes the laws cited as read on November 15, 2026; laws change and courts interpret them. Check the current text (Pennsylvania Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (Act 20 of 1951)) or talk to a local attorney before you act.