Security Deposit Law
What Kansas landlords must do with security deposits — the cap, interest, return deadline, account rules, and penalties — with citations to the statute itself.
Verified as of June 10, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Deposit cap
1 month's rent (unfurnished); 1½ months' rent (furnished); plus an extra ½ month's rent if pets are allowed.
Interest
No interest is required on residential security deposits in Kansas.
Return deadline
Return within 14 days after deductions are determined, and never more than 30 days after the tenancy ends.
K.S.A. 58-2550(a) caps the deposit at one month's periodic rent for an unfurnished dwelling unit, up to 1½ months' rent if the landlord furnishes the unit, and permits an additional deposit of up to ½ of one month's rent if the rental agreement allows pets. Federally subsidized municipal housing authorities may instead use a bedroom-size deposit schedule with a deferred payment plan.
K.S.A. 58-2550 contains no provision requiring landlords to pay or credit interest on security deposits for dwelling units. (In mobile home parks, K.S.A. 58-25,108(b) expressly provides that any interest earned on a deposit is the landlord's property.)
K.S.A. 58-2550(b): if the landlord retains any portion for expenses, damages, or other allowable charges (other than rent), the balance must be returned "within 14 days after the determination of the amount of such expenses, damages or other charges, but in no event to exceed 30 days after termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession and demand by the tenant." If the tenant makes no demand within 30 days after termination, the landlord must mail the amount due to the tenant's last known address.
K.S.A. 58-2550 imposes no separate-account, escrow, or non-commingling requirement for dwelling-unit deposits. Note the contrast: mobile home park landlords MUST hold deposits in a federally insured bank, credit union, or savings and loan and may not commingle them with personal funds under K.S.A. 58-25,108(b).
K.S.A. 58-2550(c) makes the penalty turn on noncompliance with subsection (b) (itemized notice and timely return): the tenant may recover the portion of the deposit due together with damages equal to 1½ times the amount wrongfully withheld. Kansas courts have held trial courts have no discretion to reduce this statutory damages award (Love v. Monarch Apartments, per the official case annotations).
Kansas security deposit rules come from the statewide Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (K.S.A. 58-2540 et seq.). Research found no Kansas city or county ordinance imposing its own deposit cap, interest, account, or return-deadline rules; municipal tenant resources in Wichita and Kansas City, KS (Wyandotte County) simply redistribute the state act. Mobile home park lots fall under a separate state act (K.S.A. 58-25,108) with a 2-month cap and mandatory insured-account holding.
The cap depends on what the rental agreement provides: one month's periodic rent for an unfurnished unit, up to 1½ months' rent where the tenant uses the landlord's furniture, and an additional pet deposit of up to ½ of one month's rent where pets are permitted.
Any deposit applied to accrued rent or damages must be "all as itemized by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant." The Kansas Supreme Court awarded a tenant the deposit plus the 1½× penalty where the landlord failed to furnish an itemized statement (Geiger v. Wallace, per the official case annotations).
Landlord (or representative) and tenant must jointly inventory the premises within five days of initial occupancy or delivery of possession, complete a written condition record, sign duplicate copies, and give the tenant a copy. This record is the backbone of any later deposit deduction.
Unless the rental agreement says otherwise, a tenant may not apply the deposit to the last month's rent or use it in lieu of rent; if the tenant does, the deposit is forfeited and the landlord may still recover the full rent. Per the official case annotations, Clark v. Walker upheld the forfeiture provision's constitutionality but held it must be included in the rental agreement to be enforceable against the tenant.
If the property is sold, the holder of the landlord's interest at the time the tenancy terminates is bound by the deposit statute. Buyers of occupied rentals inherit the return obligation.
Noncompliance with subsection (b) exposes you to subsection (c) liability: the tenant may recover the portion due plus damages of 1½ times the amount wrongfully withheld, and Kansas courts have no discretion to reduce that award.
Subsection (b) conditions deductions on a written itemization "delivered to the tenant"; a landlord who failed to furnish one was held liable for the deposit plus the 1½× penalty (Geiger v. Wallace, official case annotations). Without the K.S.A. 58-2548 signed move-in inventory, proving the tenant caused the damage is much harder.
This violates K.S.A. 58-2550(a)'s prohibition ("A landlord may not demand or receive...in excess of one month's periodic rent"). The statute attaches no express penalty to over-collection itself — the 1½× damages in subsection (c) apply only to subsection (b) noncompliance — but subsection (e) preserves the tenant's right to recover "other damages to which such...tenant may be entitled under this act," so over-collection invites a dispute you are not positioned to win.
Per the official case annotations, Clark v. Walker requires the forfeiture provision to be included in the rental agreement to be enforceable against the tenant. Mobile home park lots are governed by K.S.A. 58-25,108 instead — a 2 months' rent cap plus a mandatory insured-account, no-commingling rule that does not apply to ordinary dwelling units.
For an unfurnished dwelling unit, no more than one month's periodic rent. If you furnish the unit, you may charge up to 1½ months' rent, and if the lease allows pets you may collect an additional pet deposit of up to ½ of one month's rent (K.S.A. 58-2550(a)).
If you are keeping any portion for damages or other allowable charges, you must return the balance within 14 days after you determine the deduction amounts — and in no event more than 30 days after termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, and the tenant's demand. If the tenant makes no demand within 30 days of termination, mail what is due to their last known address (K.S.A. 58-2550(b)).
The tenant can sue to recover the portion of the deposit due plus damages equal to 1½ times the amount wrongfully withheld (K.S.A. 58-2550(c)). Kansas appellate courts have held trial judges have no discretion to reduce that statutory award, so the deadline and itemization rules are worth treating as hard requirements.
No. K.S.A. 58-2550 requires neither interest nor a separate or escrow account for dwelling-unit deposits. The exception is mobile home parks: K.S.A. 58-25,108(b) requires those deposits to be held un-commingled in a federally insured institution, though any interest earned belongs to the landlord.
Not unless the rental agreement allows it. If a tenant applies the deposit to rent anyway, the statute says the deposit is forfeited and the landlord may recover the rent due as if the deposit had not been applied (K.S.A. 58-2550(d)). Per Kansas case law (Clark v. Walker), the forfeiture remedy must be included in the rental agreement to be enforceable, so put it in your lease.
Yes. Within five days of initial occupancy or delivery of possession, the landlord (or a designated representative) and tenant must jointly inventory the premises, complete a written condition record, sign duplicate copies, and give the tenant a copy (K.S.A. 58-2548). That signed record is your primary evidence for any later deposit deduction.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Statute facts on this page were verified against the cited official sources on June 10, 2026.
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