Deposit Record Statute-cited public record

How Much Can a Landlord Charge for a Security Deposit in California?

One month’s rent, whatever the charge is called. Since July 1, 2024, everything a California landlord collects as security has to fit within one month’s rent, furnished or not, and the first month’s rent does not count toward it. A landlord who is a person, or an LLC whose members are all people, and who owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than four units offered for rent may collect up to two months, but never from a service member. Statutes verified October 18, 2026.

What is the maximum security deposit in California?

One month’s rent. The first month’s rent, paid on or before move-in, does not count toward it. Everything else you collect as security does, and the statute says so with the words “however denominated”: calling a charge something other than a deposit does not take it outside the limit.

Except as provided in paragraph (2), (3), or (5), a landlord shall not demand or receive security, however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of an amount equal to one month's rent, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy. Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(1)

What counts toward the limit, pet deposits included

Everything you collect as security, and that includes a pet deposit: § 1950.5 has no separate allowance for pets. California defines “security” as any payment, fee, deposit or charge, used or to be used for any purpose, and expressly includes fees for processing a new tenant and rent paid in advance (§ 1950.5(b)). So all of these share the same one month:

  • the security deposit itself;
  • a pet deposit;
  • a key deposit;
  • a move-in, cleaning or processing fee;
  • last month’s rent paid in advance.

The only charge the definition leaves out is the application screening fee, which has its own section (§ 1950.6). Apart from that and the first month’s rent, the only payments the limit does not stop are the two narrow exceptions further down. None of the money can be made non-refundable either: a lease may not call any security “nonrefundable” (§ 1950.5(n)). On our reading of the definition, a one-time pet fee collected at move-in is security as well, so it cannot be made non-refundable by calling it a fee.

A separate 2026 law, SB 1296, will require landlords to put their pet policy in writing and share it with applicants and in online listings, starting April 1, 2027 (Civ. Code § 1942.7.5). It does not change how much you may collect as a deposit.

Can you charge first month, last month and a security deposit?

Yes, as long as last month’s rent and the deposit together fit within the limit. The first month’s rent sits outside it, but last month’s rent paid in advance is security under the definition above. At $2,000 a month, for example, you may collect the first month’s $2,000 plus $2,000 more in total, split however you like between a deposit and last month’s rent. A qualifying small landlord could collect up to $4,000 on top of the first month, though not from a service member.

The small-landlord exception: up to two months

A landlord may collect up to two months’ rent, plus the first month, if both of these are true (§ 1950.5(c)(5)(A)):

  • You are a person, or an LLC whose members are all people. A corporation does not qualify. For this test a person includes the settlor or a beneficiary of a family trust, meaning a revocable living trust or an irrevocable trust whose settlors and beneficiaries are related to each other as siblings, spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, grandparents or grandchildren (§ 1950.5(c)(5)(C)).
  • You own no more than two residential rental properties, with no more than four units offered for rent between them. A duplex plus a single-family rental passes this test: two properties, three units. Three single-family rentals do not, because that is three properties.

Service members

The two-month exception never applies to a service member, and you may not refuse to rent to a service member because the limit stops you from collecting more (§ 1950.5(c)(5)(B)). For a service member the limit is one month’s rent, whoever the landlord is. The term has the meaning given in Military and Veterans Code § 400.

There is one more rule, in force since April 1, 2025. If you charge a service member a higher security than your standard or advertised amount because of their credit history, credit score, housing history or any other factor related to them, you must give them a written statement, on or before the day the lease is signed, of the higher amount and why you are charging it. The extra amount has to be returned after no more than six months of residency if the tenant is not behind on rent, and the return date goes in the lease (§ 1950.5(c)(4)). The paragraph describes the higher amount as charged “pursuant to paragraph (1),” the one-month limit, and (c)(1) does not list it as an exception, so our reading is that the higher amount must still fit within one month’s rent.

Two other exceptions: advance rent and alterations the tenant asks for

Two other payments fall outside the one-month limit:

  • Advance rent. The limit does not stop you from accepting an advance payment of at least six months’ rent, as long as the lease term is six months or longer (§ 1950.5(c)(2)).
  • Alterations the tenant asks for. You and the tenant may agree that, at the tenant’s request and for a specified fee, you will make structural, decorative, furnishing or similar alterations. The alterations cannot be cleaning or repairs you could charge the previous tenant for (§ 1950.5(c)(3)).

What changed on July 1, 2024

Before July 1, 2024, the general limit was two months’ rent for an unfurnished unit and three months’ for a furnished one, with lower limits for service members. AB 12, signed on October 11, 2023 (Stats. 2023, ch. 733), replaced them with one month’s rent, furnished or not, and added the small-landlord exception. An older guide that gives two or three months is out of date.

The new limit does not reach security you collected or demanded before July 1, 2024 (§ 1950.5(c)(6)), so an older deposit above one month can stay in place. What matters is when the money was demanded or collected, not when the tenant moves out. On our reading, a new demand made after that date, such as a top-up at renewal, has to respect the current limit.

What if you collected more than the limit?

The statute does not say what happens to money collected above the limit. The safe course, and our suggestion, is to refund the difference or credit it against rent. The limit covers whatever you demand or receive as security, at move-in or later in the tenancy, and we have not researched whether holding an amount above it could count as a bad-faith retention under § 1950.5(m), which can cost up to twice the deposit. At move-out, the 21-day return rules apply to everything you actually hold, including any amount above the limit. Once you enter the rent, the California tool flags security above one month’s rent and asks whether an exception applies.

City rules we have not checked

Our California city research covered eight cities and asked one question of each: whether it requires deposit interest. It cannot tell you whether a city limits deposits in some other way, so if you rent in a city with its own rent ordinance, check it.

Return a California deposit correctly

When the tenancy ends, the free California deposit tool works out your 21-day deadline, checks the deposit you hold against the limit and drafts the itemized statement, all in your browser with nothing stored. It also covers city deposit interest in the eight cities we have researched, and works the figure out for San Francisco, Los Angeles and Berkeley.

California security deposit limits: common questions

What is the maximum security deposit for an unfurnished unit in California?

One month’s rent, the same as for a furnished unit. Before July 1, 2024, the general limit was two months’ rent for an unfurnished unit and three months’ for a furnished one; AB 12 replaced both with a single one-month limit. (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(1); Stats. 2023, ch. 733)

Does a pet deposit count toward the California deposit limit?

Yes. California defines security as any payment, fee, deposit or charge, used or to be used for any purpose, so a pet deposit is part of the same one month, not an extra amount on top of it. The only charge the definition leaves out is the application screening fee. (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(b), (c)(1))

Can a California pet deposit be non-refundable?

No. A lease may not call any security “nonrefundable.” On our reading of the statute’s definition, a one-time pet fee collected at move-in is security too, so it cannot be made non-refundable either. (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(b), (n))

Who counts as a small landlord for a two-month deposit in California?

A landlord who is a person, or an LLC whose members are all people, and who owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than four units offered for rent between them. A settlor or beneficiary of a family trust counts as a person for this test. The two-month amount can never be charged to a service member. (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(5))

Is the application screening fee part of the California deposit limit?

No. The screening fee is governed by its own section and is the one charge the definition of security leaves out. (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1950.5(b), 1950.6)

Sources

About this page

The limit and its exceptions are read from the same statute-cited rules the California tool runs on, and the quoted passage is on our weekly watch of the official California code. Where a sentence gives our reading rather than the statute’s words, it says so. How we verify the law explains the process. This is general information that cites the statute, not legal advice, and Orygn LLC is not a law firm. For advice about your situation, talk to a licensed California attorney.