Delaware security deposit law: know your rights.
Understand the return, deduction and notice rules in Delaware. Check which conditions apply to your rental, then choose your next step.
Your deposit rights in Delaware
- Return timing
- Within 20 days of expiration or termination, the landlord must either remit the full deposit or provide an itemized list of damages with repair costs and remit the balance.
- Accounting for deductions
- Itemized list of damages with the cost of repair required within 20 days; no list within 20 days means the deposit must be returned in full. A tenant who disagrees must object in writing within 10 days of receiving the list.
- Deposit interest
- The state deposit statute does not require interest. Check any additional lease or local rule.
Registry review: August 2026. Review dates refer to the cited rules, not an attorney review of your case.
Does this rule apply to your rental?
Check the type of tenancy, the lease and any local or housing-program rules before relying on the statewide summary.
25 Del. C. § 5514 ↗What starts the return clock?
Within 20 days of expiration or termination, the landlord must either remit the full deposit or provide an itemized list of damages with repair costs and remit the balance.
25 Del. C. § 5514 ↗Check your return timing
Optional estimate from your move-out date. Read the start conditions above before treating that estimate as the return deadline. You can start the free analysis without completing this check.
Check what the landlord deducted
The statute requires an itemized list of damages with costs of repair; no express receipts-attachment requirement in § 5514.
Match each charge to the work alleged, the lease provision and the records supporting the amount. Keep refunds and charges you accept separate from those you dispute.
25 Del. C. § 5514 ↗What could you recover?
Double the amount wrongfully withheld for failure to remit within 20 days (25 Del. C. § 5514(g)(1)). Nondisclosure of the escrow account's location within 20 days of the tenant's written request - or failure to place the deposit in a qualifying federally insured institution - forfeits the deposit to the tenant; doubling of the full deposit attaches only if the landlord then fails to return it within 20 days of the forfeiture - a two-step mechanism (§ 5514(g)(2)). Under § 5514(h), a tenant who leaves no forwarding address cannot claim double damages.
Start with the unpaid amount you dispute. Any additional statutory recovery depends on the conditions in 25 Del. C. § 5514(g), including applicable notice requirements. A multiplier that already includes the deposit should not be added to that deposit again.
25 Del. C. § 5514 ↗Put the rules to work
See how the rules fit your deposit dispute
Free analysis
Add the refund, charges and records. Review the deductions and possible remedies with an explanation tied to your facts.
Full case package $29-$49
Turn your case into a demand letter, organized exhibits and a next-step plan. Review the analysis before deciding to buy.
Your entered dates and deposit amount carry forward. Additional timing details are saved in case notes. The next step asks for the refund and charges so you can build on this check.
Choose your next step
Small-claims limit: $25,000. Filing: $35 below $1,000, $40 from $1,000 through $5,000, $45 above $5,000 (JP Court debt claim); service may add costs. The court guide explains the applicable limits and additional costs.
Questions about Delaware deposit rights
How long does a Delaware landlord have to return a security deposit?
Within 20 days of expiration or termination, the landlord must either remit the full deposit or provide an itemized list of damages with repair costs and remit the balance.
25 Del. C. § 5514 ↗See the timing rules →What happens if my landlord does not follow the deposit return rules in Delaware?
Failure to provide the itemized list within 20 days forfeits the right to withhold (full deposit due); failure to remit within 20 days entitles the tenant to double the amount wrongfully withheld (§ 5514(g)(1)); an escrow/disclosure violation forfeits the deposit, with doubling only if it is not returned within 20 days of forfeiture (§ 5514(g)(2)). Keep proof of the dates, any refund, and the itemized statement.
25 Del. C. § 5514 ↗Understand the possible recovery →What accounting should I ask for in Delaware?
Itemized list of damages with the cost of repair required within 20 days; no list within 20 days means the deposit must be returned in full. A tenant who disagrees must object in writing within 10 days of receiving the list. The statute requires an itemized list of damages with costs of repair; no express receipts-attachment requirement in § 5514.
25 Del. C. § 5514 ↗