When can a landlord keep a security deposit?

An Alberta landlord can deduct unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, cleaning (only if the tenant agreed to cleaning charges in the lease) and other amounts the lease covers, such as utilities or late fees. Deductions must follow conditions the tenant agreed to, and nothing can be deducted for normal wear and tear. The landlord does not need the tenant's fresh consent or an RTDRS order, but it cannot deduct for damage unless both the move-in and move-out inspection reports were done. Unpaid rent can be deducted without them.

Within 10 days after the tenant leaves, the landlord returns the balance with a statement of account, or sends an estimated statement and the final balance within 30 days. Bigger claims, or damage claims without inspection reports, go to the RTDRS or court instead. Keeping a deposit past the deadline, or deducting for damage without the reports, is an offence with a fine of up to $5,000.

A BC landlord can keep money from a deposit only with the tenant's written agreement given at the end of the tenancy, an RTB order, or an earlier RTB order the tenant has not paid. The deposit can cover unpaid rent and damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, and cleaning if the unit was not left reasonably clean. The pet damage deposit covers only damage caused by a pet unless the tenant agrees otherwise. The government is clear that landlords cannot decide to keep a deposit on their own.

Within 15 days after the later of the tenancy ending and receiving the tenant's forwarding address in writing, the landlord must return the deposits with interest or apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch. Missing that deadline means losing the right to claim against the deposit and paying the tenant double. If the tenant gives no forwarding address within a year, the landlord can keep the deposit.

A Manitoba landlord can claim the security deposit for unpaid rent and other compensation, including repairing damage and extraordinary cleaning, judged against an ordinarily clean standard. The pet damage deposit covers pet damage, extra cleaning because of a pet and other pet-related costs. A tenant is not liable for reasonable wear and tear.

With no claim, the deposit and interest go back within 14 days after the tenancy ends. To keep any of it, the landlord sends written notice of the amount to the tenant's last known address within 28 days and returns the rest. Unless the tenant agrees in writing, the Residential Tenancies Branch decides, starting with mediation. If the tenant applies first, the landlord must file within 14 days of the Branch's notice or 28 days after the tenancy ended, whichever is later, or return the deposit.

A Saskatchewan landlord can claim cleaning, damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, and rent and utility arrears. A lease clause that lets the landlord keep the deposit automatically, or charges for cleaning automatically, is not allowed. The tenant must leave the unit reasonably clean.

Within seven business days after the landlord knew or should have known the tenant moved out, it returns the deposit with any interest, or returns the part it is not claiming and serves a notice of claim through the ORT online portal, holding the claimed amount in trust for 30 days. The landlord does not apply for a hearing; the claim is heard only if the tenant disputes it within 60 days after the tenancy ends. If the landlord did not follow these steps and the tenant applies, the deposit must be ordered paid to the tenant.

An Ontario landlord cannot keep a deposit for repairs, cleaning or anything else, because the only deposits allowed are a rent deposit and a refundable key deposit. The rent deposit, up to one month's rent, must be applied to the last rent period of the tenancy, and the key deposit must be returned when the keys come back. Pet deposits and other deposits are not allowed at all, and a tenant who paid one can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to get it back.

A landlord who believes the tenant damaged the unit applies to the LTB, during the tenancy or within one year after the tenant moves out, and the Board subtracts any rent deposit and interest still owed to the tenant. Interest on the rent deposit is owed every year at the rent increase guideline, 2.1% for interest due in 2026. Collecting or keeping money the law does not allow is an offence, with fines of up to $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation.

A New Brunswick landlord cannot keep the deposit directly, because the province's Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO) holds it. A landlord who wants part of it files a Security Deposit Claim with the TLRO within 7 days after the tenancy ends, and a residential tenancies officer investigates and decides. Claims can cover unpaid rent, unpaid utilities and late payment fees the lease required the tenant to pay, and cleaning and repairs, but not reasonable wear and tear.

If the tenancy ended by a notice to quit or a notice to vacate, the claim is due 7 days after the end of the week (for a weekly tenancy) or the month in which it ended. If both sides agree on a split, a Security Deposit Refund Agreement form is the quickest way. The officer's decision is final, subject only to review by the Court of King's Bench.

A Nova Scotia landlord can keep part of the deposit for unpaid rent and damage the tenant is responsible for, but not ordinary wear and tear. Cleaning can be claimed only as part of a claim the Director of Residential Tenancies decides. To keep anything, the landlord needs the tenant's written consent or must file a Form R Security Deposit Claim with the Director within 10 days after the lease ends, with a copy to the tenant.

A landlord who misses that deadline loses the right to keep the deposit and must return it with any interest. If the landlord's claims add up to more than the deposit, it uses a Form J application for the rest.

A PEI landlord can keep money from the deposit only with the tenant's written agreement at the end of the tenancy, for an earlier Director's order the tenant has not paid, or by applying to the Rental Office on Form 2B within 15 days after the tenancy ends. The Act does not list deductions, but the tenant must leave the unit reasonably clean and undamaged apart from reasonable wear and tear, and return all keys, so claims rest on those duties. The landlord has to prove its claim.

A lease clause that lets the landlord keep the deposit automatically is not allowed. A landlord who neither returns the deposit with interest (2.75% for 2026) nor applies within 15 days loses the right to claim against it and can be required to pay the tenant double. For tenancies that started on or after April 8, 2023, move-in and move-out inspections on Form 5 are required, and the Director may take a skipped inspection into account.

Newfoundland and Labrador's law does not list deductions. A landlord can keep money only for a claim the tenant agrees to in writing or the director of Residential Tenancies decides. In practice that means unpaid rent and other money owed, damage the tenant or their guests caused, and cleaning, since tenants must keep the unit clean. Normal wear and tear is not the tenant's cost, and adjudicators apply depreciation to damage claims.

Without a claim, the deposit and interest (0% for 2026) must go back within 10 days after the tenant moves out. If the tenant applies for the deposit, the landlord has 10 days from being served to file its own claim, or it loses the claim against the deposit. Either side can apply within one year after the rental agreement ends.