Ohio Security Deposit Calculator

Ohio law (Revised Code 5321.16) gives your landlord 30 days after you move out to return your deposit with an itemized list of any deductions — and owes you 5% yearly interest on any deposit above the greater of $50 or one month’s rent. If the landlord misses the rules, you can recover the money owed plus damages equal to the amount wrongfully withheld. Enter your numbers for an estimate.

How Ohio’s deposit rules work

Interest — ORC 5321.16(A). If your deposit is more than the greater of $50 or one month’s rent, the landlord owes interest at 5% per year on the excess, computed and paid annually, as long as you were in possession for at least six months. On a $1,200-a-month rental with a $2,400 deposit, the excess is $1,200 and the interest is about $60 a year — money many tenants never know to ask for.

The 30-day rule — ORC 5321.16(B). Within 30 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession, the landlord must either apply the deposit to back rent or send you a written, itemized list of every deduction together with the amount owed to you.

Wrongful withholding — ORC 5321.16(C). If the landlord fails to comply, the tenant may recover the money due, plus damages equal to the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney fees. In practice that means the withheld money can be doubled. The tenant must first have given the landlord a forwarding address in writing; without one, the damages and fees are off the table, though the deposit itself is still owed.

Ohio’s security deposit rules at a glance

A worked example

Say your rent was $1,200 a month and you paid a $2,400 deposit. You moved in on January 1, 2024 and out on January 1, 2026, and you gave your landlord a forwarding address in writing. The landlord eventually returned $1,800 on February 15, 2026 — keeping $600 — and never sent an itemized list. Here is the math. The interest threshold is the greater of $50 or one month’s rent, so $1,200; the excess deposit is $2,400 − $1,200 = $1,200, and two years of 5% interest on that excess comes to $120.16. The return deadline was January 31, 2026 (move-out plus 30 days), so the return was 15 days late — and with no itemized list, it misses the statute twice. The $600 kept is therefore potentially wrongfully withheld: money due is $600 + $120.16 = $720.16, damages add another $600, and the potential total recovery is $1,320.16, plus any reasonable attorney fees a court awards. Whether the $600 was actually wrongful is ultimately a court’s call — if it covered real damage or unpaid rent, the picture changes.

How to use this calculator

Step 1 — enter your monthly rent and the full security deposit you paid.

Step 2 — enter your move-in and move-out dates; the tenancy length drives the interest rule and the move-out date starts the 30-day clock.

Step 3 — say whether the deposit or deduction statement came back, and if so, on what date.

Step 4 — enter the amount the landlord kept, whether you received a written itemized list, and whether you gave a forwarding address in writing.

Step 5 — read the interest, the deadline verdict, and the potential recovery, including whether the damages rule is available on your facts.

Common questions

When does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Ohio?

Within 30 days after the rental agreement terminates and you deliver possession — usually the day you hand back the keys (ORC 5321.16(B)). By that deadline the landlord must return the deposit or send a written, itemized list of deductions together with any amount still owed to you. A return on day 30 is on time; day 31 is late.

How much interest is owed on an Ohio security deposit?

Five percent per year, but only on the part of the deposit above the greater of $50 or one month’s rent, and only if the tenancy lasted six months or longer (ORC 5321.16(A)). On a $2,400 deposit with $1,200 rent, the excess is $1,200, so interest runs about $60 a year — small, but it is yours, and it stacks on top of the deposit in any recovery.

My landlord kept part of the deposit and never sent a list. What can I recover?

Failing to send the itemized written list within 30 days is a compliance failure under ORC 5321.16, and the amount withheld is treated as potentially wrongfully withheld. You may recover the money due (the withheld amount plus any interest), damages equal to that same amount — in effect doubling it — and reasonable attorney fees. In the worked example above, a $600 un-itemized withholding becomes a potential $1,320.16 recovery once interest and damages are added.

Can a landlord deduct for normal wear and tear?

Deductions are lawful for unpaid rent and for damage beyond normal wear and tear — a broken fixture, not faded paint. The damages rule in 5321.16(C) is aimed at money withheld without following the statute’s procedure, not at legitimate charges; if you dispute whether a charge was real, that is a separate argument, and a court decides what was actually wrongful.

I never gave a forwarding address. Can I still get the double damages?

No — ORC 5321.16(C) conditions the damages and attorney fees on the tenant having provided a forwarding address in writing, and without one they are forfeited. The deposit itself, plus any 5% interest owed on the excess, is still yours either way. If you have not moved yet, or have just moved, putting that address in writing is the single cheapest step you can take to protect the claim.

The 30 days have passed and I have heard nothing. What now?

First, if you have not already, give the landlord a forwarding address in writing and keep proof you sent it. Keep your lease, receipts, move-out photos, and any messages — they are the record a court would look at. Then talk to an Ohio landlord-tenant attorney or your local legal aid office; deposit claims are a common legal aid matter, and because 5321.16(C) can add damages and attorney fees on top of the deposit, even a modest claim can be worth pursuing.

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