Does a landlord have to pay interest on a security deposit in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island requires no interest on a residential security deposit, and no separate, escrow or trust account for it either.
Cited to R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19 (Security deposits) (b), (f), (g) and 1 more cited source · Verified August 28, 2026
R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19 states the amount the tenant gets back as a closed subtraction: "the entire amount given by the tenant as a security deposit, minus" unpaid accrued rent, reasonable cleaning expenses, reasonable trash-disposal expenses, and physical damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, all itemized in a written notice delivered with the money within twenty days. There is no additive term in that formula, and no subsection anywhere in the section addresses where the deposit is held. A landlord who misses the twenty days owes the amount due plus twice the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees, and no rental agreement may waive any of it. The only appearances of the word "interest" in the whole section are in subsection (g), twice, and both mean the landlord's ownership interest in the premises.
Rhode Island deposit interest at a glance
| Interest owed to the tenant | No — no statute addresses it |
|---|---|
| How the rate is set | No rate exists — there is no interest duty |
| Current figure | No published figure exists |
| Rate rules | No rate rules — no duty exists |
| Accrual and payment | No payment duty exists |
| Who and what is covered | No statutory conditions stated — see the summary and notes |
| Statute controls where or how the deposit is held | No statute addresses how the deposit is held |
| Interest-bearing account required | No statute addresses whether the account must bear interest |
| Custody rules | No statute addresses custody of the deposit |
| Penalty for violation | No statutory penalty reaches an interest violation specifically |
| Local rules | None noted for this state |
Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Rhode Island Security Deposit Interest Laws (verified August 28, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/deposit-interest/rhode-island/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.
Check the verified Rhode Island answer — and every state and city that differs — in the deposit interest calculator — free, no signup, built on the same verified Rhode Island law as this page.
Notes and caveats
- A closed formula leaves no room for an interest term — This is the cleanest way to see the answer. Subsections (b) and (f) — the ordinary deposit and the separate furniture deposit a landlord of a furnished apartment may take — both compute what is owed as the whole amount the tenant gave, minus a fixed list of deductions. Nothing is added to that sum, and no other section of the chapter adds anything to it.
- The disclosure section names no bank — Where a state requires a deposit account, the duty to tell the tenant about it usually lives in the disclosure section. Rhode Island's § 34-18-20(a) requires disclosure of the name, address and number of the person authorized to manage the premises and of an owner or the owner's agent for service of process — and nothing about an institution, a branch or an account. There is no account to disclose.
- The Rhode Island Special Deposits Act is bank law, not landlord law — In 2026 Rhode Island enacted a version of the Uniform Special Deposits Act into its financial-institutions title. Among the permissible purposes for which a bank may hold a special deposit, the act lists holding funds "[a]s a security deposit of a tenant." That authorizes a banking product; it imposes no duty on any landlord, creates no segregation requirement, and says nothing about paying a tenant interest. It has no place in an answer about a Rhode Island landlord's obligations.
- The 2026 session changed nothing here — Four 2026 enactments cite chapter 34-18: the Rhode Island Survivor Early Lease Termination Act and its companion, which amend the definitions section and add §§ 34-18-63 through 34-18-67 and merely cross-refer to § 34-18-19 for the refund, and a second pair amending §§ 34-18-14 and 34-18-20. None touches the deposit formula. § 34-18-19 was last amended in 2018.
Common questions: Rhode Island deposit interest
Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.
- What is the Rhode Island security deposit interest rate right now?
- No published figure exists.
- When must a landlord pay or credit deposit interest in Rhode Island?
- No payment duty exists.
- Does the deposit have to be in an interest-bearing account in Rhode Island?
- No statute addresses whether the account must bear interest.
- What happens if a landlord does not pay deposit interest in Rhode Island?
- No statutory penalty reaches an interest violation specifically.
- Do any cities or counties in Rhode Island have their own deposit-interest rules?
- None noted for this state.
Citations
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19 (Security deposits) · (b), (f), (g) (verified 2026) Official source
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-20 (Disclosure) · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
How this record was verified: Complete read of R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19 (security deposits), subsections (a) through (h) with its history line, and of every one of the sixty-eight sections of ch. 34-18, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, on the General Assembly's statute server; every occurrence of 'interest', 'escrow', 'commingle' and 'account' in the chapter examined in context, only seven sections producing any hit at all and none of them a monetary use of 'interest'; § 34-18-20 (disclosure) read specifically because a deposit-account disclosure duty would sit there; and the site's 2026 currency gap closed by enumerating and reading all 427 public laws of the 2026 session, of which four cite ch. 34-18, none amending § 34-18-19.