Rhode Island landlord compliance guide: deposits, returns, fees

Rhode Island keeps the deposit small and the return window short. Question by question:

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Rhode Island?

One month's rent (R.I. Gen. Laws §34-18-19). Stonerow enforces the cap at lease creation and renewal.

Do Rhode Island landlords pay interest on security deposits?

Rhode Island's landlord-tenant act imposes no general deposit-interest requirement — unlike Connecticut and Massachusetts. Stonerow applies each state's rule correctly: interest for CT and MA leases, correctly none for RI.

How long does a Rhode Island landlord have to return a deposit?

Generally 20 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered, with an itemized list of deductions. Wrongful withholding can cost up to twice the amount plus costs. Stonerow's itemization statement prints statute-cited — guide here.

What late fee can a Rhode Island landlord charge?

Rhode Island has no flat statutory dollar cap like Connecticut's; fees must be reasonable and properly disclosed in the lease. Stonerow applies your written policy consistently and posts every fee as a typed ledger entry, separate from rent.

Anything else RI-specific?

Rhode Island operates a rental registry, and registration status matters in nonpayment proceedings — worth confirming your properties are current with the state.

General information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify current law with counsel. Product view: Stonerow for Rhode Island landlords.

How does Stonerow keep Rhode Island rules straight if I also own in CT or MA?

Rules resolve from each property's state, not from your organization's. A Providence three-family and a Fall River two-family sit in the same account under the same login, and each lease gets the cap, the interest rule, and the late-fee treatment its own state requires. You do not switch a setting or remember which is which.

What should a Rhode Island landlord have ready before the 20-day clock runs out?

Four things, and all of them exist before move-out if you have been recording as you go: the move-out inspection with dated photographs, receipts or invoices for anything deducted, the lease ledger showing any unpaid balance, and the tenant's forwarding address. The itemized statement is then a two-minute job rather than a scramble, which matters when wrongful withholding can cost up to twice the amount plus costs.

Does Stonerow handle my Rhode Island rental registration?

No. Registration is your obligation to the state, and Stonerow does not file it for you. What it does is keep the property, unit, and lease records that make the filing straightforward, and hold the documents you attach to each property so the paperwork is in one place rather than four.