What Is the Maximum Security Deposit in Connecticut?

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Connecticut limits a security deposit to two months’ rent, and to one month’s rent for a tenant who is 62 or older. Here is how the statute defines a deposit and who enforces the limit.

What is the maximum security deposit in Connecticut?

In the case of a tenant under sixty-two years of age, a landlord “shall not demand a security deposit in an amount that exceeds two months’ rent” (Conn. Gen. Stat. 47a-21(b)(1)). On $1,800 rent the ceiling is $3,600. The Connecticut security deposit limit calculator does the comparison for your rent.

Is the limit lower for older tenants?

Yes. For a tenant sixty-two years of age or older, the landlord may not demand a deposit that exceeds one month’s rent, and a landlord who has received more than one month’s rent from a tenant who becomes sixty-two after paying must return the excess to the tenant on request (47a-21(b)(2)). On $1,800 rent the ceiling for a tenant 62 or older is $1,800.

What counts as a security deposit?

Any advance rental payment, or any installment payment collected under 47a-22a, except an advance payment for the first month’s rent or a deposit for a key or any special equipment (47a-21(a)(11)). So a deposit and a “last month’s rent” held in advance both count toward the limit, while the first month’s rent and a key deposit do not.

Who enforces the limit?

The Banking Commissioner may receive and investigate complaints about an alleged violation of the deposit amount rule, and can order a landlord to cease and desist (47a-21(j)). A tenant can also bring a court action to reclaim any part of a deposit (47a-21(g)).

What happens after the tenancy?

The landlord must deliver the deposit plus interest, or the balance with an itemized statement, not later than 21 days after the tenancy ends or 15 days after the tenant’s written forwarding address, whichever is later, or owe twice the deposit (47a-21(d)). Use the Connecticut security deposit return deadline calculator for the date.

Does the limit apply to every rental?

The statute defines “landlord” to include any landlord of residential real property, a receiver, a successor and a tenant who sublets, and “tenant” to include a resident of a mobile manufactured home park (47a-21(a)). If your situation is unusual, ask a licensed Connecticut attorney.

Worked examples of the Connecticut limit

These are illustrations of the rule, not statements about any lease.

What a tenant can do about an excessive deposit

Add every payment held as an advance rental payment other than the first month’s rent and compare the total with the limit for your age. If it is higher, ask the landlord in writing to refund the excess, keep the lease and receipts, and consider a complaint to the Banking Commissioner or a court action to reclaim the money.

A checklist for landlords

Treat two months’ rent as the ceiling (one month for tenants 62 and older); hold every deposit in escrow and tell the tenant in writing where within 30 days; pay interest at not less than the deposit index; and calendar the return deadline with the return deadline calculator.

How the limit has changed

The statute used to speak of an amount or value in excess of a stated number of months’ periodic rent. Public Act 16-65 simplified it to an amount that exceeds two months’ rent, and Public Act 17-236 added the right of a tenant who turns 62 after paying to ask for the excess over one month’s rent back.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. 47a-21: security deposits

This is general information, not legal advice. It is based on the cited Connecticut statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed Connecticut attorney.