Connecticut security deposit law
What your landlord is legally required to do after you move out, how long they have, and what it costs them if they get it wrong.
A formal letter citing Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21, sent certified mail for you. Takes about 3 minutes.
Deadline to return
21 days
Governing statute
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21
The deadline
Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21, a landlord in Connecticut must return your security deposit — together with any required written itemization of deductions — within 21 days. Once that window closes without payment or a proper itemization, the landlord is in violation of the statute.
21 days after the tenancy ends or 15 days after the landlord receives a forwarding address, whichever is later.
What it costs your landlord
Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21, a landlord who wrongfully withholds a deposit in Connecticut may be liable for twice the amount of the security deposit paid. That exposure is the reason a formal demand letter works: it is usually cheaper for a landlord to pay you than to argue about it.
How to get your deposit back in Connecticut
- 1. Confirm the deadline has passed. Count from the day you moved out and returned possession. In Connecticut that's 21 days.
- 2. Put your forwarding address in writing. In several states a landlord has no obligation until they have it, and having sent it protects your claim.
- 3. Gather your evidence. The lease, proof you paid the deposit, move-in and move-out photos, and any itemization they sent.
- 4. Send a written demand by certified mail. Cite Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21, state the amount owed, and give a deadline to pay. Certified mail creates the delivery record a judge will want to see.
- 5. File in small claims if they ignore you. You don't need a lawyer. File in the county where the property is located.
Get your Connecticut demand letter sent certified
Answer a few questions and get a formal letter citing Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21, the deadline your landlord missed, and the penalty they now face. We'll print it and send it by USPS Certified Mail — and the delivery record is dated evidence you can produce if this ever reaches a courtroom.
Start my letterOther Connecticut tenant rights
Landlords who get one of these wrong often get another wrong too.
Security deposit laws in other states
These rules change at the state line. Every page is checked against that state's own published statute.
Common questions
- How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Connecticut?
- Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21, a Connecticut landlord has 21 days to return the deposit and provide any required written itemization of deductions.
- What is the penalty if my landlord keeps my deposit in Connecticut?
- Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21, a landlord who wrongfully withholds may be liable for twice the amount of the security deposit paid.
- Do I have to sue to get my security deposit back?
- Often not. A formal written demand sent by certified mail puts your landlord on notice of the statute, the deadline they missed and the penalty attached to it — and gives you a dated record that they received it. Small claims court is the fallback if they ignore it.
How this page was checked
- Read from the source. Every deadline, cap and penalty here was taken from the legislature's published text — the statute, session law or administrative code itself.
- No legal-information websites. Commercial summaries were used only to find a provision, never as authority for it. An automated check fails our build if any state we serve cites a secondary source.
- Locked against drift. The verified figures are pinned by regression tests, so a later edit cannot quietly change a deadline or a penalty.
- Last verified September 1, 2026. Laws change — confirm the current text before relying on it.
General information, not legal advice. We are not a law firm.
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