Tools · Security Deposit

Minnesota Security Deposit Calculator (2026)

Enter your rent and move-out date to see the most a Minnesota landlord can charge and the exact date your deposit is due back — no statutory cap here, returned Three weeks (five days if the building is condemned) after the tenancy ends and the tenant gives the landlord a mailing address or delivery instructions; a five-day rule applies when the tenant has to leave because the building is legally condemned.

Cited to Minn. Stat. §504B.178Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, §504B.178 (official 2025 publication).

Minnesota security deposit calculator

Security deposit · Minnesota

State

Monthly rent

Move-out date

Minnesota rule applied to your numbers

Maximum deposit

No cap

Minnesota sets no statutory maximum; your lease sets the amount. Minn. Stat. §504B.178 does not cap the amount of a residential security deposit. The statute governs interest, the return deadline, and penalties, but it leaves the amount to the rental agreement.

Return deadline

Three weeks (five days if the building is condemned)

Three weeks (five days if the building is condemned) after the tenancy ends and the tenant gives the landlord a mailing address or delivery instructions; a five-day rule applies when the tenant has to leave because the building is legally condemned. Enter your move-out date for the exact deadline.

These are the Minnesota figures applied to what you entered: a plain summary of the rule and the dates, not a determination that anyone did or did not comply.

If a deposit is wrongly kept

A landlord who misses the deadline or keeps money without a valid written reason owes the wrongfully withheld amount plus interest, and again the same withheld amount plus interest as a penalty. Bad-faith retention adds punitive damages of up to $500 per deposit. If the landlord did not follow the return rules, the withholding is presumed to be in bad faith unless the landlord returns the deposit within two weeks after the tenant files suit.

Interest on the deposit

Yes. Minnesota is one of the few states that requires interest on a security deposit. The deposit earns simple, noncompounded interest at one percent per year, running from the first day of the month after you pay it in full until the landlord returns it. Any interest under $1 is not owed.

PlainStatute

Security deposit — Minnesota

Maximum deposit: No statutory cap
Monthly rent: $2,000
Move-out date: Not entered
Return deadline: Three weeks (five days if the building is condemned) after the tenancy ends and the tenant gives the landlord a mailing address or delivery instructions; a five-day rule applies when the tenant has to leave because the building is legally condemned

Source: Minn. Stat. §504B.178

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/504B.178

Printed from plainstatute.com
Plain-language summary, not legal advice.

Informational only, not legal advice. Security-deposit rules carry exceptions (lease type, small landlords, city ordinances) this summary cannot weigh. See the full statute and exceptions on the Minnesota security deposit reference, cited to Minn. Stat. §504B.178.

How Minnesota security deposits work

Minnesota is one of the few states that requires a landlord to pay interest on your security deposit: one percent simple interest per year, set by Minn. Stat. §504B.178. The clock on getting your money back starts only after two things happen, the tenancy ends and you give the landlord a mailing address or delivery instructions. From that point the landlord has three weeks to return the deposit with interest or send a written statement explaining what was kept and why. A short five-day deadline applies instead if you had to move out because the building was legally condemned. Minnesota puts no cap on how large the deposit can be, so the amount is set by your lease. If the landlord keeps money in bad faith, you can recover the wrongfully withheld amount, a matching penalty, and punitive damages of up to $500 per deposit.

This calculator shows the Minnesota figures applied to your own rent and dates. It is informational only and not legal advice — exceptions this summary cannot weigh may apply. For the full rules, penalties, and citations, see the Minnesota security deposit reference.

Security deposit calculators for other states

Same tool, each with its own cap and return deadline.