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.
Georgia rule history
Every change we have made to the rules we apply in Georgia, 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-2026.11.18
TEKTOLO-407 to 410: one due date on the letter; inputs the engine ignored (GA, MT, MA, NC); blanks to describe each deducted item (TX, WI, GA, WA, NH, MA); CA estimates, demand wording and tenant-door gaps.
- Changed: Itemized statement and records.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.30
Separates the lease's scheduled end from the day the tenancy ended, for lost rent and lease-break charges; Florida's retake-month rent and Georgia's clock start.
- Changed: Return deadline.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.29
Uses inputs the statutes refer to: pet deposits and prepaid rent in caps and interest, Minneapolis's prepaid cap, North Carolina's term, published interest rates and move-in reports.
- Changed: Itemized statement and records.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.28
Applies exemptions the inputs decide (Georgia, Arkansas, Maine) and keeps the statute's date as an alternative where an exception is not ruled out (New Jersey, New Hampshire).
- Changed: Who the law covers.
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: Who the law covers.
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-2026.10.18
The penalty base follows each statute's words (what was wrongfully withheld, the balance owed, or more than the actual damages) in 24 states; Maryland's remedy for a deposit over the cap.
- Changed: Penalties.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.17
Adds each state's statute on re-renting and mitigation (33 states); in Oregon and Florida the early-termination fee and the later rent are alternatives.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.13
Deposit caps computed and versioned by collection or lease date (California AB 12, Georgia, Maryland, Colorado), with the exceptions the inputs show.
- Changed: Deposit cap.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.10
Weekend and holiday roll-forward under each state's time-computation statute (32 states), with each state's own legal holidays.
- Changed: Return deadline, Sources.
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-2026.10.3
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, Points the tool does not compute.
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 Georgia, 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 10, 2026 | sd-2026.10.13 |
| Interest | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Itemized statement and records | October 15, 2026 | sd-2026.11.18 |
| Loss of the right to withhold | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.3 |
| Notes | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.1 |
| Penalties | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.10.18 |
| Points the tool does not compute | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.3 |
| Recent amendments | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Return deadline | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.10.30 |
| Statute | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Statute text | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Who the law covers | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.10.28 |
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=GA&since=2026-01-01 - Every value of one rule:
/v1/rules/history?rule=deposit-settlement/states/GA%23return - What we said on a date about the law on another:
/v1/rules/as-of?rule=deposit-settlement/states/GA&known=2026-10-01&valid=2025-12-01