Free Ohio Security Deposit Return Letter Template

Last reviewed September 2026

Written by LawLease Editorial

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Ohio Security Deposit Return Letter

When a tenancy ends, an Ohio landlord has a set time to return the deposit or send an itemized list of deductions. Here’s what Ohio’s statute says.

Ohio rules at a glance

Ohio rules for a Security Deposit Return Letter
Return deadline	30 days. Any deduction must be itemized in a written notice delivered with the amount due within 30 days after the rental agreement ends and possession is delivered.R.C. 5321.16(B)
Penalty	A landlord who doesn’t comply owes the money wrongfully withheld, plus damages equal to that amount and reasonable attorney’s fees.R.C. 5321.16(C)

Security deposits in Ohio

Ohio places no limit on the amount of a residential security deposit. What the law regulates is interest on large deposits and the return process.

Interest — Any deposit above $50 or one month’s periodic rent, whichever is greater, earns interest on the excess at 5% a year if the tenant stays six months or more; the landlord computes and pays it annually (R.C. 5321.16(A)). A deposit of one month’s rent or less earns no statutory interest.
Permitted deductions — The deposit may be applied to past-due rent and to damages caused by the tenant’s failure to meet their statutory duties or the lease (R.C. 5321.16(B)).
Return — Any deduction must be itemized in a written notice delivered with the amount due within 30 days after the rental agreement ends and possession is delivered (R.C. 5321.16(B)).
Forwarding address — The tenant must give the landlord a forwarding address in writing. A tenant who doesn’t loses the right to the double-damages and attorney’s-fee remedy (R.C. 5321.16(B)).
Wrongful withholding — A landlord who doesn’t comply owes the money wrongfully withheld, plus damages equal to that amount and reasonable attorney’s fees (R.C. 5321.16(C)).

Required disclosures in Ohio

Ohio does not require state-specific radon, mold, bedbug or flood disclosures for ordinary residential leases.

Owner and agent — Every written lease must state the name and address of the owner and of the owner’s agent, if any; an entity owner must give its principal place of business. If the landlord omits this, the tenant’s notice requirements for repair remedies are waived (R.C. 5321.18).
Lead-based paint — Federal lead warning and known-hazard disclosure for housing built before 1978 (42 U.S.C. §4852d).
Small-landlord rent-escrow notice — A landlord with three or fewer dwelling units can opt out of the tenant rent-escrow remedy — but only by giving written notice of that fact in the lease or at move-in (R.C. 5321.07(C)).

Ohio Security Deposit Return Letter FAQs

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Ohio?

Ohio has no statutory cap. If the deposit exceeds $50 or one month’s rent (whichever is greater) and the tenant stays six months or more, the landlord must pay 5% annual interest on the excess (R.C. 5321.16(A)).

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Ohio?

30 days after the lease ends and the tenant returns possession, with an itemized written notice of any deductions. A landlord who wrongfully withholds owes the amount plus an equal amount in damages and attorney’s fees — provided the tenant gave a forwarding address in writing (R.C. 5321.16(B)–(C)).

Security Deposit Return Letter in other states

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