Ohio security deposit laws for landlords: no cap, interest on the excess and a 30 day notice
Ohio does not cap a residential security deposit. What Ohio does is attach interest to the excess: any deposit above $50 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, earns 5% a year on the excess once the tenant stays six months. You have 30 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered to send an itemized written notice of deductions with the money due, and a landlord who fails can owe the amount wrongfully withheld again as damages plus attorney fees. The rule is Ohio Revised Code 5321.16.
Is Ohio's deposit law really only one section?
Yes. Ohio Revised Code 5321.16 has three divisions, (A) on interest, (B) on deductions and the notice, and (C) on what a tenant can recover. It sits in Chapter 5321, the Landlords and Tenants act. That keeps the law short, but it leaves some questions to your lease, such as the deposit amount, and to the rest of the chapter, such as the tenant's and landlord's duties to keep the unit in repair.
How does the 5% interest on the excess work?
Division (A) says any security deposit in excess of fifty dollars or one month's periodic rent, whichever is greater, bears interest on the excess at five percent per annum if the tenant remains in possession for six months or more. The landlord computes and pays it to the tenant annually. For nearly every rental, one month's rent is the greater number, so interest runs only on the part of the deposit above one month.
Example a made-up apartment rents for $900 a month and the lease asks for a $1,500 deposit. One month's rent, $900, is greater than $50, so $900 is the threshold and the excess is $600. At 5% a year, the interest on the excess is $30. A tenant who stays two years is owed $30 each year, $60 in all, if you have paid nothing earlier.
A deposit of exactly one month of rent or less earns nothing under this division. Many landlords hold deposits at one month for that reason alone.
What can I deduct and how do I tell the tenant?
Division (B) lets you apply the deposit to past due rent and to the amount of damages you suffered because of the tenant's noncompliance with section 5321.05 (the tenant's duties) or the rental agreement. Every deduction must be itemized and identified in a written notice delivered to the tenant with the amount due, within thirty days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession.
The section does not use the words wear and tear, and it does not list allowed categories beyond rent and damages. The safe practice is to deduct only for rent owed and for damage the tenant caused or failed to prevent under section 5321.05, with photos and invoices. See normal wear and tear vs. damage.
What if the tenant gives no forwarding address?
Division (B) requires the tenant to give the landlord in writing a forwarding or new address where the notice and the amount due can be sent. If the tenant fails to do so, the tenant is not entitled to damages or attorney fees under division (C). The tenant can still ask for the deposit, but the penalty exposure falls away. Ask for the address in your move-out letter and keep a copy.
What does a mistake cost?
Division (C): 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 fees. In practice that means paying what you should have returned, the same amount again and the tenant's fees.
Example a made-up landlord holds a $1,200 deposit, sends no notice in 30 days and keeps $500 for repainting. A court finds the $500 was wrongly withheld. The landlord owes the $500, another $500 as damages and the tenant's attorney fees. If the same landlord had mailed a proper itemized notice on day 29 and had receipts for real damage, the exposure would have been the disputed amount alone, or nothing.
How DoorKeeping handles it
Because DoorKeeping gives every property its own books, each tenant's deposit is a separate balance there, so you can see which deposits are above one month and the yearly interest figure to pay. Leases are e-signed and stored as documents, and any payment waits for your one tap. DoorKeeping never holds the deposit and gives no legal advice.
Sources
- Ohio Revised Code section 5321.16, procedures for security deposits, read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Is there a maximum security deposit in Ohio?
- Ohio Revised Code 5321.16 sets no cap. It attaches 5% interest to the part of a deposit above $50 or one month's rent, whichever is greater.
- How long does an Ohio landlord have to return a deposit?
- Thirty days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession, with an itemized, written notice of any deduction.
- Do I owe interest on an Ohio deposit?
- Only on the excess over one month's rent (or $50 if greater), at 5% a year, if the tenant stays six months or more, computed and paid annually.
- What is the penalty in Ohio for wrongly keeping a deposit?
- The money due, damages equal to the amount wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney fees, unless the tenant failed to give a forwarding address.