How long a landlord has to return your deposit, and what you can claim if they miss it
This page covers residential security deposits in Tennessee, where a landlord has kept some or all of a deposit after a tenancy ends.
It does not cover:
Lease terms and local ordinances can change what applies. Where a city has its own deposit rules, those may differ from the state statute below.
Measured from Landlord notifies tenant of the refund amount at the last known / reasonably determinable address; tenant fails to respond within 60 days.
Tennessee has NO fixed statutory return deadline. Instead, if a refund is due, the landlord must send notice of the refund amount to the tenant. Only if the tenant does not respond within 60 days of that notice may the landlord keep the deposit free of the tenant's claim. The clock runs against the tenant, not the landlord.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(f) ↗Measured from Within 10 business days of termination of occupancy, but before any repairs or cleanup.
The landlord must, within 10 business days of the termination of occupancy and before any repairs or cleanup, inspect the premises and compile a comprehensive damage listing with estimated repair costs. This is a landlord obligation prerequisite to retaining any portion of the deposit — it is not a "return the money" deadline.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(b) ↗No statutory penalty beyond returning the deposit.
Tennessee has NO 2x or 3x multiplier. The remedy is a forfeiture: if the landlord fails to deposit the security deposit in a separate account (subsection (a)) OR fails to provide the damage listing (subsection (b)), the landlord is not entitled to retain ANY portion of the deposit. This is automatic on noncompliance — no separate finding of bad faith or willfulness is required. The tenant may still recover the full deposit even if some deductions would otherwise have been valid.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(c) ↗The tenant may recover the landlord's attorney fees.
Tennessee's § 66-28-301 does not itself provide attorney fees. In a general sessions or circuit court action, a prevailing tenant may recover court costs, but attorney fees are not automatic and are generally not awarded absent a contractual or separate statutory basis.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(d) ↗The clock does not start on the day you decided to leave. In Tennessee it starts Landlord notifies tenant of the refund amount at the last known / reasonably determinable address; tenant fails to respond within 60 days — for most leases that is the date you hand back the keys, not the date your notice period began.
““I kept the deposit for cleaning and damages.””
Tennessee law requires you to compile a written damage listing with estimated repair costs before charging anything against my deposit. If you did not, you lose the right to retain any portion of it — and ordinary wear and tear is never deductible.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(b), (c)
““You never gave me a forwarding address.””
You must send notice of any refund to my last known or reasonably determinable address. If I never responded, that only lets you keep the money after 60 days — it does not erase the separate-account and damage-listing requirements you still had to meet.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(f)
““You did not dispute the damage list in writing.””
Under § 66-28-301(d), my claim is limited to the items I specifically dissented from on the listing. But if you never provided a proper listing — or never held my deposit in a separate account — that limitation does not protect you from forfeiting the whole deposit.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(c), (d)
Every figure on this page comes from the official text, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked against the source.
| Statute | Last verified | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(f) | 2026-10-15 | official text ↗ |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(b) | 2026-10-15 | official text ↗ |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(c) | 2026-10-15 | official text ↗ |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(d) | 2026-10-15 | official text ↗ |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301 | 2026-10-15 | official text ↗ |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-102 | 2026-10-15 | official text ↗ |
Primary reference: Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301 (URLTA Security Deposit Act). Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Amendments are recorded on the site changelog.
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Tennessee Security Deposit Rules
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10 or 60 days, counted from Landlord notifies tenant of the refund amount at the last known / reasonably determinable address; tenant fails to respond within 60 days. Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301(f).
The statute cited for Tennessee does not provide a penalty multiplier beyond returning the deposit and any lawful deductions.
It runs from Landlord notifies tenant of the refund amount at the last known / reasonably determinable address; tenant fails to respond within 60 days — the date you vacated and returned the keys, not the date your notice period began.
No — Tennessee does not have a separate "small claims court"; civil claims up to $25,000 are heard in General Sessions Court, which has relaxed procedure and is designed for self-represented litigants. Attorney representation is permitted but not required.