Louisiana Security Deposit Law: One-Month Return and $300 Floor

By Steve Levine · Updated November 3, 2026

Short answer: Louisiana security deposit law sets no cap on how much a landlord may collect, but La. R.S. 9:3251(A) requires the deposit back within one month after the lease ends, with an itemized statement for anything kept. If a landlord willfully keeps money, La. R.S. 9:3252(A) lets you recover it plus $300 or twice the amount wrongfully held, whichever is greater, and a landlord who ignores your written demand for 30 days is treated as willful.

That last rule is what makes Louisiana different. In most states you have to prove bad faith. Here the statute hands you a shortcut: send a written demand, wait 30 days, and the landlord’s silence itself becomes “willful failure.” This guide walks through the four short sections of Part IV of Title 9 (R.S. 9:3251 to 9:3254), what each one requires, and where the law simply says nothing.

Louisiana security deposit law at a glance

Rule	Louisiana	Statute
Deposit limit	No statutory cap	R.S. 9:3251
Return deadline	Within one month after the lease terminates	R.S. 9:3251(A)
Itemized statement	Required for any amount retained, with reasons, sent to your forwarding address	R.S. 9:3251(A)
Interest / separate account	Not required by the statute	R.S. 9:3251-3254
Penalty	Amount wrongfully kept plus the greater of $300 or 2x that amount; possible costs and attorney’s fees	R.S. 9:3252(A), 9:3253
Small claims limit	$5,000 in a city court small claims division	R.S. 13:5202(A)

The 30-day written demand that triggers the penalty

Under La. R.S. 9:3252(A), the penalty applies only to a “willful” failure to follow the return rules. The same sentence then defines one way willfulness is proven: “Failure to remit within thirty days after written demand for a refund shall constitute willful failure.”

So the demand letter is not a courtesy in Louisiana. It starts a clock. Put it in writing, date it, state the amount you believe is owed, and keep proof that it was delivered, such as certified mail or an email the landlord answered. If 30 days go by with no refund, you no longer need to argue about the landlord’s state of mind. Our security deposit demand letter guide covers what to include.

The penalty itself is generous for small deposits. You recover the portion wrongfully retained, plus either $300 or double that portion, whichever is greater. On a $100 dispute, the $300 floor does the work. On a $1,000 dispute, doubling does.

How much a Louisiana landlord can charge

Nothing in R.S. 9:3251 through 9:3254 limits the size of a deposit. A landlord can ask for one month, two months or more, and the market sets the number. The statute also does not separately mention pet deposits, last month’s rent or nonrefundable fees.

What it does say is broad: the return rule covers “any advance or deposit of money” a tenant pays to secure performance of “a written or oral lease or rental agreement.” If your lease calls a payment a pet deposit and it secures your performance under the lease, it fits that wording and should be accounted for the same way at move-out. A charge the lease plainly labels as a fee rather than a deposit is a harder argument, so read the lease language closely before you sign.

Where the money is held, and interest

Louisiana’s deposit sections are short, and they are silent on banking. They do not require a separate escrow account, do not require the landlord to tell you which bank holds the money, and do not require interest. A landlord may simply hold the cash. That silence also means there is no state interest rate to calculate at move-out.

The statute likewise sets no move-in inspection or checklist requirement. Because the burden of proving the unit’s original condition will matter later, take dated photos and video of every room on move-in day and email them to yourself or the landlord. That record is often the best evidence you will have.

What a landlord may deduct: “unreasonable wear”

R.S. 9:3251(A) allows the landlord to keep only what is “reasonably necessary to remedy a default of the tenant or to remedy unreasonable wear to the premises.” Two categories, then: unpaid rent or other lease defaults, and damage beyond ordinary use.

The Civil Code fills in the other side. Civil Code Article 2683(3) obliges a lessee to return the property in the same condition as when it was delivered, “except for normal wear and tear.” Faded paint, minor scuffs and carpet worn along a walking path are the ordinary results of living somewhere. Burns, pet stains, broken fixtures and holes in walls are not. Our wear and tear guide has more side-by-side examples.

Return deadline, forwarding address and the itemized statement

The clock starts when the lease terminates. The deposit must be returned “within one month after the lease shall terminate.” If the landlord keeps any portion, R.S. 9:3251(A) requires an itemized statement “accounting for the proceeds which are retained and giving the reasons therefor.” The statute says that statement goes out within one month after the tenancy ends or within fifteen days after that one-month mark.

You have a duty too. The same subsection says “the tenant shall furnish the lessor a forwarding address at the termination of the lease.” Give it in writing and keep a copy, because a landlord who never received an address will argue the statement had nowhere to go.

One important exception sits in R.S. 9:3251(C): the return rules in Subsection A do not apply when the tenant abandons the premises “either without giving notice as required or prior to the termination of the lease.” Leaving early without the notice your lease requires can cost you the protection of the deadline. Check the lease-breaking guide before you move out early.

A worked example

Danielle rents a one-bedroom in Baton Rouge for $1,150 a month and paid a $1,150 deposit. Her one-year lease ends on June 30. She gives the landlord her new address in writing and leaves the unit clean, with one cracked bathroom mirror.

By the end of July she has received nothing. On August 2 she mails a written demand by certified mail. On September 10 the landlord sends $400 with a note listing $150 for the mirror and $600 for “repainting,” though the walls only show ordinary fading.

Fair deduction: $150 for the mirror (damage beyond normal wear)
Wrongfully retained: $600 for repainting normal wear
More than 30 days passed after her written demand without a full refund, so R.S. 9:3252(A) treats the failure as willful
Recovery: the $600, plus the greater of $300 or 2 x $600 = $1,200
Total claim: $1,800, plus any costs and attorney’s fees the court awards under R.S. 9:3253

Her claim is well under the $5,000 small claims limit.

Suing in small claims court

Under La. R.S. 13:5202(A), a city court small claims division hears cases where the amount in dispute does not exceed $5,000, “exclusive of interest, court costs, attorney fees, or penalties.” Small claims divisions cannot issue injunctions, so the remedy is a money judgment.

R.S. 9:3252(B) lets you file either in the parish where the landlord is domiciled or in the parish where the rental is located, which helps if your landlord lives elsewhere. Under R.S. 9:3253, the court “may in its discretion award costs and attorney’s fees to the prevailing party.” That runs both ways, so bring documents, not just your account. Our small claims guide explains the filing steps.

Special situations

The building is sold

If the landlord’s interest is transferred during the lease, R.S. 9:3251(B) requires the old owner to transfer your deposit to the new one, and the new owner then becomes responsible for returning it. R.S. 9:3252(A) also lets you recover the penalty from “the lessor’s successor in interest.”

Domestic abuse, stalking and early termination

La. R.S. 9:3261.1 lets a qualifying victim end a lease early with reasonable documentation, such as a Uniform Abuse Prevention Order. The lessor terminates the lease on a mutually agreed date within thirty days of the written request. On the deposit, the statute says the lessor “may withhold the lessee’s security deposit only for any reason permitted under R.S. 9:3251.” It applies to buildings with six or more units, but not to structures of ten or fewer units where the owner lives in one.

Co-tenants

The deposit statute does not address splitting a refund among roommates. Under R.S. 9:3261.1(F)(3), when one of several lessees uses the domestic abuse accommodation, the entire lease terminates on the agreed date.

Waivers

R.S. 9:3254 makes any waiver of these tenant rights “null and void.” A lease clause saying the deposit is forfeited automatically, or that you give up the penalty, does not hold up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Louisiana require interest on my deposit?

No. The deposit sections, R.S. 9:3251 through 9:3254, contain no interest requirement and no separate-account rule. Your lease could promise interest, and if it does, that promise is enforceable as a contract term.

What if I moved out early without notice?

R.S. 9:3251(C) says the one-month return rule does not apply when a tenant abandons the premises without the required notice or before the lease ends. You can still dispute charges, but you lose the benefit of the statutory deadline and penalty structure, so giving proper written notice matters.

Is $300 the most I can get as a penalty?

No, $300 is the minimum. R.S. 9:3252(A) awards the greater of $300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained, in addition to the money itself. On larger disputes the doubling amount controls.

Can I sue in the parish where I rented if my landlord lives in Texas?

R.S. 9:3252(B) allows the suit in the parish of the lessor’s domicile or the parish where the property is located. That gives you a Louisiana venue for an out-of-state owner.

How long must I wait after my demand letter?

Thirty days. Under R.S. 9:3252(A), failure to remit within thirty days after a written demand counts as willful failure, so file after that window closes.

This page explains the statute in general terms and is not legal advice. For help with your own case, use the Legal Services Corporation’s get legal help finder to reach a Louisiana legal aid office, and compare your timeline in our state-by-state deposit table. If your landlord has already missed the one-month mark, your next step is to mail a dated written demand today, which starts the 30-day willfulness clock.

Sources

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