Landlord & tenant · Delaware
the short answer
Your landlord has 20 days to send an itemized list. No list inside 20 days counts as an admission that nothing is owed for damages. Money kept wrongly is worth double. If a list and a payment do arrive, object in writing within 10 days or you are taken to agree with it.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
governing statute
25 Del. C. § 5514
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
deadline
20 days
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 2 of the 47 states written up answer this the same way as Delaware. The shortest is 14 days, as in Alaska; the longest is 60 days, as in Alabama. Compare every state →
penalty
Double the amount wrongfully withheld (§ 5514(g)(1)). Failing to send the itemized list within 20 days is itself an acknowledgment that no payment for damages is due.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
which court
Justice of the Peace Court
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
small claims limit
$25,000
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
also
If the landlord does send a list and a payment, you have 10 days from receiving it to object in writing. Accepting the payment without objecting counts as agreeing to the damages claimed.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
your situation
Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in Delaware. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Written by an AI model, which can be wrong. Not a lawyer, and not a prediction about your case. Terms · Privacy
a landlord keeping my deposit — state by state →other claims in this state →
sponsors