Security Deposits in Manitoba: What a Landlord Must Do

A security deposit cannot be more than half of the first month's rent under the tenancy agreement. For subsidized housing, the half is worked out on the full rent, not the discounted rent. You cannot require the deposit until you and the tenant have entered the tenancy agreement, and when you receive it you must give the tenant a written acknowledgment showing the amount, the date received, and the rental unit and residential complex. The rules are in The Residential Tenancies Act.

If you collect more than the cap, the tenant may set the excess, with interest, against rent. Exceeding the maximum is also an item that can draw an administrative penalty. Our Ask page on deposit limits has a short version, and the tenant's view is in the Manitoba security deposit guide.

When you require a deposit, you must either hold it in line with the Act or remit it to the director of the RTB. Interest is owed from the date the tenant pays the deposit until it is paid out. The rate is not set by the RTB. It is fixed by a regulation of the minister, the Residential Tenancies Interest Regulation, at 0.5 per cent a year. The RTB's rate table also shows 0.5 per cent for 2026.

You can only use the deposit as the tenant's last month's rent if the other side agrees in writing. Neither side can do it alone.

If you sell the building, the new landlord is liable to pay a tenant any deposit or interest the former landlord did not pay. Pass the money and the records on at the time of sale.

A condition report is optional unless either you or the tenant asks for one. Once one is asked for, both of you must inspect the unit on or before move-in and again at the end of the tenancy. You fill in the prescribed form, both of you sign and date it, and the tenant gets a signed copy. A request can also be made at a sublet or assignment, or when you allow a pet after the tenancy starts.

The RTB recommends a move-in and move-out report every time. When the RTB decides who keeps the deposit, it looks at evidence such as the condition report and whether the unit was left ordinarily clean. The Act sets no special penalty for skipping a report, but without one you have less to show. See our Manitoba condition reports guide for the process.

1. The tenancy ends. All deadlines run from the date of termination of the tenancy.
2. If you have no claim, return the deposit and interest within 14 days.
3. If you want to claim part of it, within 28 days send the tenant a written notice of the amount you are claiming, to the tenant's last known address. In the same 28 days, return any unclaimed part of the deposit and interest.
4. If you and the tenant agree in writing how to split the deposit, that settles it. If you do not, either of you may apply to the RTB to decide.
5. If only the tenant applies, the RTB tells you. You must then file your own application within 14 days of that notice or 28 days after the tenancy ended, whichever is later.
6. If you do not file in time, you must return the deposit and interest to the tenant. You still keep the right to take proceedings against the tenant under Part 11 of the Act.

The deposit service at the RTB is free. A $50 fee applies only when your claim goes beyond the deposit and interest. Read the RTB deposit fact sheet for the branch's summary.

Against a security deposit you may claim unpaid rent and other compensation owed to you, including the cost of repairing damage and extraordinary cleaning. Against a pet damage deposit you may claim damage caused by a pet, extraordinary cleaning needed because of a pet and any other pet-related liability.

A tenant is not liable for reasonable wear and tear. The RTB judges cleaning against an ordinarily clean standard. Its decision guide adds some detail:

• A tenant is entitled to move into a clean unit and must leave it ordinarily clean.
• A tenant only has to shampoo or steam-clean a carpet if they stained it.
• The Branch may award up to $20.00 an hour for cleaning.
• For damaged items, the Branch awards the loss of value, not the replacement cost. It weighs the age of the item, its condition at the start, its useful life and the replacement cost.
• Pictures on walls are not damage if the tenant acted reasonably, though a tenant should not fill nail holes.

To claim more than the deposit, you must be able to prove a financial loss, that it happened during the tenancy, that the tenant is responsible, and the amount. This goes to the RTB, not small claims court.

The Act has no double-deposit penalty. The consequences are different, and they add up.

• If you do not apply in time, you must return the deposit and interest.
• If the RTB orders you to return a deposit and you do not, the tenant may apply for payment from the provincial security deposit compensation fund.
• Ignoring an RTB order to return a deposit is an administrative penalty item: $1,000 for a first penalty, $3,000 for a second and $5,000 for a third or later.
• Breaking the main return deadlines can also be an offence. An individual can face a fine of up to $20,000, or up to 2 years in jail, or both. A corporation can face a fine of up to $50,000.

If a tenant owes you rent as well, see our guide to landlord notices in Manitoba for how a tenancy ends, since the deadlines above start on that date. The Ask page on when a landlord can keep a deposit covers the common cases. This guide explains the rules in general terms; for a specific case, ask the tribunal or a licensed legal professional.