Tools · Security Deposit

Tennessee Security Deposit Calculator (2026)

Enter your rent and move-out date to see the most a Tennessee landlord can charge and the exact date your deposit is due back — no statutory cap here, returned No fixed statutory return deadline; a 60-day notice rule applies The statute does not set a specific number of days to return the deposit. When the tenant leaves owing no rent and is due a refund, the landlord must send written notice of the refund amount to the tenant's last known address. If the tenant does not respond within 60 days of that notice, the landlord may remove the deposit from the account and keep it free of the tenant's claim..

Cited to Tenn. Code Ann. §66-28-301Source: FindLaw reproduction of Tenn. Code Ann. §66-28-301.

Tennessee security deposit calculator

Security deposit · Tennessee

State

Monthly rent

Move-out date

Tennessee rule applied to your numbers

Maximum deposit

No cap

Tennessee sets no statutory maximum; your lease sets the amount. Section 66-28-301 contains no ceiling on the deposit amount. Market norms are usually one month of rent, sometimes with an added half month for pets, but the statute itself imposes no maximum.

Return deadline

No fixed statutory return deadline; a 60-day notice rule applies

No fixed statutory return deadline; a 60-day notice rule applies The statute does not set a specific number of days to return the deposit. When the tenant leaves owing no rent and is due a refund, the landlord must send written notice of the refund amount to the tenant's last known address. If the tenant does not respond within 60 days of that notice, the landlord may remove the deposit from the account and keep it free of the tenant's claim.. Enter your move-out date for the exact deadline.

These are the Tennessee 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 loses the right to retain any part of the deposit if the money was not held in the required separate account and a listing of damages was not provided. A tenant can then sue for the full deposit, and courts may award additional relief such as attorney's fees under the general landlord-tenant enforcement provisions.

Interest on the deposit

Tennessee law does not require landlords to pay interest on a residential security deposit. Section 66-28-301 says nothing about interest, so a landlord may keep any interest the account earns unless the lease provides otherwise.

Local ordinances

The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Chapter 28) applies only in counties above the statutory population threshold (roughly 75,000 or more) and in cities that adopt it. In smaller Tennessee counties, common-law lease terms govern instead, so the exact rules can differ by location.

PlainStatute

Security deposit — Tennessee

Maximum deposit: No statutory cap
Monthly rent: $2,000
Move-out date: Not entered
Return deadline: No fixed statutory return deadline; a 60-day notice rule applies The statute does not set a specific number of days to return the deposit. When the tenant leaves owing no rent and is due a refund, the landlord must send written notice of the refund amount to the tenant's last known address. If the tenant does not respond within 60 days of that notice, the landlord may remove the deposit from the account and keep it free of the tenant's claim.

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. §66-28-301

https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-66-property/tn-code-sect-66-28-301/

⚠ Draft: confirm with the official source before relying on this.

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 Tennessee security deposit reference, cited to Tenn. Code Ann. §66-28-301.

How Tennessee security deposits work

Tennessee puts no ceiling on the security deposit a landlord can charge, and it does not require any interest to be paid on it. What the state cares about most is where your money sits: the landlord must hold every deposit in a separate account used only for deposits, at a regulated bank, and tell you where it is when you sign the lease. There is no fixed number of days for returning your money. Instead the landlord must mail written notice of any refund to your last known address, and if you do not respond within 60 days, the landlord can keep it. If a dispute over damage arises, you can ask for a joint move-out inspection, and the signed damage list you both agree to is treated as conclusive. The strongest protection is procedural: if a landlord never used the required separate account and never gave you a damage listing, they lose the right to keep any part of your deposit.

This calculator shows the Tennessee 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 Tennessee security deposit reference.

Security deposit calculators for other states

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