Security deposits: caps, interest, and itemization

Deposits are the highest-liability money a landlord holds — Massachusetts mistakes carry treble damages. Stonerow moves the rules into the software so the expensive errors are stopped at entry.

Caps, enforced at the lease

Connecticut: two months' rent. Rhode Island and Massachusetts: one month. The check runs when a lease is created or renewed — an over-cap deposit cannot be saved.

Interest, calculated per state

Connecticut publishes a deposit-interest index annually; Massachusetts requires 5% (or the actual bank rate) on deposits held a year or more; Rhode Island has no general interest mandate. Stonerow calculates per lease using the property state's rule — including, correctly, nothing for RI. On Core you run the accrual on demand; on Standard it accrues automatically on schedule. The calculation itself is a compliance guardrail and is never paywalled.

Itemization statements

Generate a security-deposit itemization statement as a printable PDF with the statutory citation on the page and a clear not-legal-advice disclaimer — ready for CT's later-of-21/15-day window, RI's 20 days, and MA's 30.

Statute summaries here are general information, not legal advice. Verify current law with counsel.

Common questions

Does Stonerow hold the deposit money?

No. You hold the funds yourself, in the account your state requires. Stonerow is the record of the amount, the accrued interest, the statutory cap that applied, and the itemization at the end — the paperwork side of the obligation, not the banking side.

How does the Connecticut senior exception work?

Connecticut caps deposits at two months' rent, but at one month where the tenant is 62 or older. Enter the deposit that reflects the household and the cap check applies the right figure at save time.

When does interest start accruing?

By state rule. Massachusetts requires 5%, or the actual bank rate, on deposits held a year or more. Connecticut uses the index its Department of Banking publishes annually. Rhode Island has no general mandate, so Stonerow accrues nothing there — correctly, and without you having to know that.

What if I already hold an over-cap deposit from before I switched?

Refund the excess and record the refund on the ledger. The append-only trail then shows what you held, when you corrected it, and by how much, which is a far stronger position than a quiet adjustment nobody can date.

Is any of this behind a paywall?

No. Cap enforcement, interest accrual, and the itemization statement are free on every plan including Core, permanently. Locking a landlord out of their own legal toolkit is a liability, not a business model.