Kansas security deposit law

For an unfurnished unit you may not demand or receive a security deposit of more than one month's periodic rent. Where the lease lets the tenant use your furniture the limit is 1 1/2 months' rent, and where the lease permits pets you may take an additional deposit of up to 1/2 of one month's rent.

K.S.A. 58-2550(a)

• A security deposit is any sum the lease sets for the tenant to deposit as a condition of moving in that the tenant may forfeit for breaking lease conditions, whatever it is called. K.S.A. 58-2543(m)
• A municipal housing authority that receives federal aid and sets rent solely by the tenant's income may use a deposit schedule based on bedroom size, and must then offer a deferred payment plan. K.S.A. 58-2550(a)
• Unless the lease says otherwise, the tenant may not use the deposit as the last month's rent. A tenant who does forfeits the deposit, and you may recover the rent as if it had not been applied. K.S.A. 58-2550(d)

When the tenancy ends you may apply the deposit to accrued rent and to damages from the tenant's breach of the lease or of the tenant duties in K.S.A. 58-2555, itemized in a written notice to the tenant. If you keep any part for charges other than rent, you must return the balance within 14 days after those charges are determined, and never later than 30 days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered and the tenant demands it.

K.S.A. 58-2550(b)

• If the tenant makes no demand within 30 days after the tenancy ends, you must mail the amount due to the tenant's last known address. K.S.A. 58-2550(b)
• A landlord who does not follow these rules owes the portion due plus damages of 1 1/2 times the amount wrongfully withheld. K.S.A. 58-2550(c)
• Whoever holds the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends is bound by the deposit rules, and a landlord who sells in good faith stays liable for the deposit the tenant is owed. K.S.A. 58-2550(f) K.S.A. 58-2554(a)
• When the tenant ends the lease for your uncured noncompliance, a fire or casualty, or an unlawful lockout or utility cut-off, you must return the part of the deposit the tenant can recover. K.S.A. 58-2559(c) K.S.A. 58-2562(b) K.S.A. 58-2563

No section of the Kansas Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, read whole, requires you to hold deposits in a separate account or to pay interest on them.

K.S.A. 58-2540 to 58-2573

• The holder of the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends is bound by the deposit return rules. K.S.A. 58-2550(f) See Returning the deposit on the Kansas page

Within five days of the first day of occupancy, or when you deliver possession, you or your representative and the tenant must jointly inventory the premises and complete a written record of the condition of the premises and of any furnishings or appliances you provide.

K.S.A. 58-2548

• Both of you sign duplicate copies of the record to show the inventory was completed, and the tenant must be given a copy. K.S.A. 58-2548
• At the start of the term you must deliver possession in compliance with the lease and your maintenance duties. K.S.A. 58-2552