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Tennessee security deposit law

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301 (applies only where the URLTA applies, § 66-28-102) · Checked against the statute

Maximum deposit
No statutory limit.
Return deadline
Tennessee's statute doesn't set a deadline for returning the deposit; it sets time limits for the move-out inspection and for the refund notice instead.
If the landlord keeps it wrongly
No multiple-damages penalty. A landlord who neither used the required account nor gave the damage listing may not keep any part of the deposit (§ 66-28-301(c)). A tenant may sue in circuit or general sessions court only over items they dissented from.

Calculate your Tennessee deadline

Choose your state and move-out date to see when your landlord must return the deposit.

Time limits that apply

Tennessee's statute doesn't set a deadline for returning the deposit; it sets time limits for the move-out inspection and for the refund notice instead.

  • The move-out inspection must happen on the day the tenant fully vacates or within 4 calendar days after.
  • The landlord must send notice of the refund amount to the tenant's last known address. If the tenant does not respond within 60 days after the notice is sent, the landlord may keep the deposit.
  • The landlord may charge for physical damage found after the inspection only if it is discovered by the earlier of 30 days after the tenant leaves or 7 days after a new tenant moves in.

No forwarding-address rule. The refund notice goes to the tenant's last known or reasonably determinable address, and the tenant must respond within 60 days or lose the deposit.

Itemized list of deductions

Required: Yes. The landlord must compile a comprehensive list of presently ascertainable damage that is the basis for any charge, with estimated repair costs. In a mutual inspection both sides sign it, and a tenant who disagrees must list in writing the items they dissent from.

What can and can't be deducted

The statute does not define wear and tear. Charges must be based on physical damage listed in the inspection, with estimated repair costs.

Nonrefundable fees

The statute does not address nonrefundable fees.

Interest, bank account and move-in inspection

  • Interest required: No. No statewide interest requirement.
  • Separate account required: Yes. Deposits taken before move-in must be kept in an account used only for deposits, at a state- or federally regulated bank or lending institution. At lease signing the landlord must tell the tenant where the account is (not the account number).
  • Move-in inspection required: No. No move-in inspection is required. The statute sets a move-out inspection process, and the tenant may ask to attend it.

Penalties and bad faith

No multiple-damages penalty. A landlord who neither used the required account nor gave the damage listing may not keep any part of the deposit (§ 66-28-301(c)). A tenant may sue in circuit or general sessions court only over items they dissented from.

The statute has no bad-faith presumption.

Getting your deposit back in court

Deposit suits go to General Sessions Court, which hears civil cases up to $25,000 in all counties, not counting attorney's fees and costs (Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-15-501). Court information

Before filing, many tenants send a written demand first. Write a Tennessee demand letter →

Also good to know

  • The URLTA, including § 66-28-301, applies only in counties with more than 75,000 people under the 2010 federal census (§ 66-28-102(a); PC 847 of 2012 set 75,000 under the 2010 census, and PC 182 of 2021, effective July 1, 2021, removed 'or any subsequent federal census'). The Attorney General's consumer page still states a 68,000 threshold and lists 19 counties: Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Greene, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Putnam, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson. Greene (68,831) and Putnam (72,321) had fewer than 75,000 people in the 2010 census. In other counties no state deposit statute applies.
  • In URLTA counties the Act preempts county rules (§ 66-28-102(e)), so there are no local deposit ordinances.
  • If the tenant moves out owing rent or other amounts, the landlord may take the deposit from the account and apply it to the debt.
  • A tenant who schedules the move-out inspection and then misses it waives the right to contest the damages found, if the lease says so.
  • HB 2025 / SB 1893 (2024), which would have capped deposits at one month's rent, failed in subcommittee on March 5, 2024.
  • The statute sets no deadline for returning the deposit or sending the refund notice. The only time limits are the 4-day inspection window, the 30-day/7-day limit on later-found damage, and the tenant's 60 days to respond to the refund notice (§ 66-28-301(b), (f), (g)).

Sources

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 11, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; see our methodology.