The rule
- Deposit limit
- 1 month’s rent (leases of 1 year or more)
- Return deadline
- 20 days
- Interest owed
- Not required
- Itemized deductions
- Required
- The limit
- Also applies to month-to-month tenancies once they have lasted 1 year (the excess must be credited back). No limit for furnished units or shorter tenancies.
- The deadline
- Within 20 days after the rental agreement ends, with an itemized list of damages and estimated repair costs; failing to itemize concedes no damages are owed.
- Interest
- Deposits must be held in a designated escrow account at a federally insured bank with a Delaware office, but interest is not required.
- Deductions
- The landlord must give you an itemized list of anything kept from the deposit.
- If it isn’t returned
- Tenant may recover double the amount wrongfully withheld; failing to disclose or properly bank the deposit forfeits it to the tenant.
Law: 25 Del. C. § 5514
Last reviewed September 30, 2026
Not legal advice. Statutes change; check the linked section.