Tennessee Security Deposit Law: Deadlines & Penalties

Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not set a single fixed number of days for returning a security deposit. Instead, a landlord who keeps any part of it must document the damage through an inspection and a written listing, and a landlord who owes a refund must notify the tenant of the amount at the last known or reasonably determinable address.

The landlord may offer the tenant the right to attend a move-out inspection held on the day the tenant leaves or within four days after. The inspection produces a written list of damages with estimated repair costs, which both sides sign; a tenant who disagrees should list the disputed items in writing. Damage discovered later can only be charged if found within 30 days after move-out, or 7 days after a new tenant moves in, whichever comes first.

Deposits must be kept in a separate account at a regulated bank, and tenants must be told where. A landlord who neither used that account nor provided the damage listing cannot keep any of the deposit. If the landlord sends notice of a refund and hears nothing back for 60 days, the landlord may keep it, so respond promptly. The act applies mainly in Tennessee's more populous counties.