Twenty days. That's how long Delaware gives you after a tenancy ends to send back the deposit with an itemized damage list, and the statute treats silence as a confession: miss the deadline and the law deems you to have acknowledged that no damages are owed, then doubles whatever you wrongfully held (25 Del. C. § 5514). Delaware treats the deposit as the tenant's money in your custody, so that's where a First State landlord's education should start.

Taking and holding a deposit the Delaware way

On a lease of one year or longer, the deposit is capped at one month's rent (25 Del. C. § 5514(a)). Month-to-month and shorter arrangements can start higher, but the cap catches up: once the tenancy passes the one-year mark, anything above one month's rent must be immediately credited back to the tenant. Furnished units are exempt from the cap entirely.

Pets get their own lane. You may collect a separate pet deposit of up to one month's rent, whatever the lease length, but it only covers pet damage, and you can't charge it for a service animal. Application fees are capped too: the greater of 10% of the monthly rent or $50 (25 Del. C. § 5514(d)).

Where the money sits is not optional. Deposits go into an escrow account at a federally insured banking institution with a Delaware office, and you must disclose the account's location to the tenant. Commingling deposit money with operating cash is exactly the pattern that turns a routine move-out into a double-damages claim. Down in Florida and Georgia there's no deposit cap at all, which surprises landlords who own along the I-95 corridor in multiple states.

Returning it: the 20-day clock and the double-damages trap

Within 20 days of the lease's expiration or termination, send the itemized list of damages and the balance of the deposit. Deductions can cover unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, and losses from the tenant leaving early. Normal wear (faded paint, worn carpet paths) is not damage and never has been.

The enforcement teeth are unusually sharp. No itemized list within 20 days means the statute treats you as having admitted no damages are due, full stop. Failing to remit what you owe entitles the tenant to double the amount wrongfully withheld (25 Del. C. § 5514(g)). A $1,500 deposit mishandled becomes a $3,000 liability plus your own court time in Justice of the Peace Court. Date-stamped move-in and move-out photos and a running ledger are what win these disputes; Rentari keeps that evidence attached to each tenancy automatically.

Rent, the 5% late-fee cap, and raising rent at renewal

Rent is due at the start of each rental period unless the lease says otherwise, and a late fee can't be imposed until rent is more than 5 days late. The fee itself tops out at 5% of the monthly rent (25 Del. C. § 5501(d)). One quirk worth knowing: if you don't maintain a rent-collection office in the county where the unit sits, the tenant gets 3 extra days to pay before rent is even considered late.

There's no rent control on standard Delaware rentals, and a 2024 attempt to create a statewide cap (HB 455, a 5% limit) died in committee, so pricing between tenancies is yours to set. Mid-lease increases are barred unless the lease itself allows them. At renewal, § 5107 requires 60 days' written notice of any modified term, rent included, before the agreement expires; the tenant then has until 45 days before expiration to reject the change and walk. Manufactured-home communities are the exception: lot-rent increases above CPI need justification under a separate regime in Title 25, Chapter 70.

Entry notice and the 60-day calendar trap

For non-emergency entry (inspections, repairs you initiated, showings), give at least 48 hours' notice and come only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (25 Del. C. § 5509). Repairs the tenant requested don't need the 48 hours.

Ending or not renewing a tenancy takes a minimum of 60 days' written notice, whether it's a fixed term expiring or a month-to-month arrangement (25 Del. C. § 5106). Here's the trap: for month-to-month tenancies the 60-day period begins on the first day of the month FOLLOWING actual notice. Serve notice on March 10 and the clock doesn't start until April 1, so possession comes back June 1, not mid-May. Landlords who count 60 literal days from service routinely file early and lose. Rules this specific are why the Delaware quick-reference sheet exists.

Evictions run through Justice of the Peace Court

Nonpayment starts with a written demand giving the tenant at least 5 days to pay before the rental agreement terminates (25 Del. C. § 5502). A material lease violation gets a 7-day written notice to cure; a repeat of substantially the same violation within 12 months lets you terminate without a second cure window, and conduct causing irreparable harm can end the tenancy immediately (25 Del. C. § 5513).

If the notice expires unresolved, you file a summary possession action in Justice of the Peace Court, the only court that hears them, and only a court judgment and writ get the unit back. Lockouts and utility shutoffs are unlawful ouster, which hands the tenant a damages claim. One newer duty: since November 22, 2023, Delaware's right-to-representation law (Title 25, Chapter 56) requires landlords to give tenants standardized notice about free legal representation for income-qualified renters, at set points in the tenancy and again with any eviction notice. JP Court's landlord-tenant forms and the current notice text live at courts.delaware.gov.

Habitability math and the disclosure packet

Delaware's repair remedies come with hard numbers. If you get written notice of a needed repair and don't start work within 10 days (or finish within 30), the tenant may hire it out and deduct up to $400 or half a month's rent, whichever is less (25 Del. C. § 5307). Cut off an essential service like heat, hot water, or electricity for more than 48 hours after notice and the tenant can keep two-thirds of the per-diem rent for each day without it, or move to substitute housing on your dime up to half the abated rent (25 Del. C. § 5308).

The paperwork stack is short but mandatory: every new tenant gets the Attorney General's summary of the Landlord-Tenant Code at lease signing (25 Del. C. § 5118), and skipping it lets the tenant plead ignorance of the code as a defense; the lease must show the names and business addresses of the owners or their resident agent (25 Del. C. § 5105); pre-1978 housing needs the federal lead-paint disclosure and pamphlet. And mark January 1, 2026: SB 293 makes source of income a protected class under the Delaware Fair Housing Act, so refusing an applicant because rent comes from a Section 8 voucher is now discrimination. Delaware-specific lease and notice templates are in the forms library.

What's changed recently, and what didn't pass

  • November 22, 2023: right-to-representation law took effect; landlords must give standardized legal-help notices during the tenancy and with eviction notices (Title 25, Chapter 56).
  • June 2024: HB 455, a statewide 5% rent-increase cap, died in the House Housing Committee. No rent cap exists for standard rentals.
  • August 9, 2024 (effective January 1, 2026): SB 293 added source-of-income protection to the Fair Housing Act, covering housing vouchers and rental assistance.

Otherwise the core code (deposits, notices, late fees) has been stable for years; the compliance risk in Delaware is mostly about executing the old rules precisely, not chasing new ones. If you also hold property in Washington, D.C., two hours up the road, expect the opposite: rent stabilization, TOPA, and a far heavier disclosure load.

Delaware landlord FAQ

How much deposit can I take on a month-to-month tenancy?

More than one month's rent is allowed at first, but once the tenancy passes one year you must immediately credit back everything above one month (25 Del. C. § 5514(a)). Furnished units are exempt from the cap.

What happens if I return the deposit on day 25?

You've already forfeited the right to withhold for damages, and the tenant can sue for double the amount wrongfully withheld. The 20-day deadline has no good-faith extension, so calendar it the day the tenant hands back keys.

How big a late fee can my lease charge?

At most 5% of the monthly rent, and only after rent is more than 5 days late (25 Del. C. § 5501(d)). Add 3 days to that grace period if you have no rent-collection office in the tenant's county.

Can I non-renew a problem tenant without giving a reason?

Yes. Delaware doesn't require just cause for nonrenewal, but you owe 60 days' written notice, and on month-to-month tenancies the clock starts the first day of the next month after notice (25 Del. C. § 5106). Retaliatory nonrenewal (after a code complaint, for example) is still barred.

Do I have to accept Section 8 vouchers now?

As of January 1, 2026, you can't reject an applicant because their rent comes from a voucher or rental assistance (SB 293). You may still screen everyone with the same neutral criteria, applied to the portion of rent the tenant actually pays.

This is general information about Delaware's Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, not legal advice. Statutes change and individual situations differ, so before acting on a notice period or deadline, read the current text in Title 25 of the Delaware Code or consult a Delaware landlord-tenant attorney.