Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.19
Published interest rates and the cleaning rule are now written as dated values, one value from each date. No rule changed and no answer moved.
- Changed: Deductions.
District of Columbia rule history
Every change we have made to the rules we apply in District of Columbia, newest first. Each entry gives the ruleset version, the day we made the change and the rules it touched.
Changes, newest first
Dates are the days we made each change. A change reaches tektolo.com with the next release of the site. Changes that apply in every state are in the rules changelog. Rules changelog.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.17
Statute quotes now match the official text in Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Oregon and Texas, the Illinois sources link to the new ilga.gov pages, and Kentucky's note loses a stray comma. No deadline or amount changed.
- Changed: Deductions, Loss of the right to withhold.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.14
Adds the wording the statute requires on the statement in Michigan, Florida, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, in the version in force on the day it is sent.
- Added: Wording required on the statement.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.10
An exemption whose exception is unknown keeps the statute's answer (New Jersey, New Hampshire), with fixes for Wisconsin, West Virginia, DC photos, and Michigan and California return methods.
- Changed: Itemized statement and records.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.7
Maryland trebles only what is withheld without a basis, with fixes for West Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia's bad-faith treble and Minnesota's late statement.
- Changed: Penalties.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.23
Adds trash and abandoned items as a deduction, Maine's bar on a fee for ending the tenancy, cap variants for small landlords and older tenants, and owner-occupancy exemptions.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.22
Lease charges a statute's damages wording may cover are 'depends', not 'no'; California late charges only as a valid liquidated-damages clause; New York's cap dated to 2019.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.19
Unmet documentation duties now change the charges (California, DC, Portland, Hawaii, Washington), with move-in statements in Montana and Washington and Georgia's move-out list.
- Changed: Itemized statement and records.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.12
Penalty exposure on the deposit still held once the deadline passes; no-forwarding-address safe harbors in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, South Carolina and New Hampshire.
- Changed: Penalties.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.9
Where the statute is silent on depreciation (49 states), an aged item is limited to its remaining value as an estimate; Colorado carpet over ten years old is barred.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.8
Cleaning is typed per state, as named in the statute or recoverable only as damage beyond normal wear; a cleaning line of unknown kind is 'depends', never refused outright.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.6
Late-fee caps (17 states, Chicago and Seattle) and lease-break limits; a lease-break charge is 'depends' everywhere.
- Changed: Deductions, Sources.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.5
Extensions and two-step deadlines: the Virginia and West Virginia contractor extension, the District of Columbia's 45-day notice, and Florida's late claim notice.
- Changed: Return deadline.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.3
Loss of the right to withhold is typed per state and computed into the totals; consequences the tool does not compute are listed as unknowns.
- Added: Loss of the right to withhold.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.1
Review fixes: inclusive tenancy thresholds, state holiday sets, Los Angeles and Maryland interest per rate year, Florida's notice of claim, Colorado's carpet and paint limits.
- Changed: Notes.
The rules we apply now
Each rule we apply in District of Columbia, with the day it took its current form.
| Rule | In this form since | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Deductions | October 15, 2026 | sd-2026.11.19 |
| Deposit cap | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Interest | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Itemized statement and records | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.11.10 |
| Loss of the right to withhold | October 15, 2026 | sd-2026.11.17 |
| Notes | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.1 |
| Penalties | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.11.7 |
| Recent amendments | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Return deadline | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.5 |
| Statute | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Statute text | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Wording required on the statement | October 14, 2026 | sd-2026.11.14 |
Get this as data
The same history is available as JSON. The API is free and needs no key.
- Changes this year:
/v1/rules/changes?state=DC&since=2026-01-01 - Every value of one rule:
/v1/rules/history?rule=deposit-settlement/states/DC%23return - What we said on a date about the law on another:
/v1/rules/as-of?rule=deposit-settlement/states/DC&known=2026-10-01&valid=2025-12-01