Security deposit: how much to ask, what you can deduct, and how to return it without a fight

The security deposit is the money that causes the most arguments at the end of a tenancy, and almost always for the same reason: nobody wrote down, at the start, what condition the home was in or what exactly the deposit was for. At the end, one remembers a clean wall and the other a stain that "was already there".

This guide covers what the law says (less than people think), what the Civil Code says about handing the property back (more), and the practical method for returning a deposit without a fight.

This is not legal advice. If a clause worries you, a lawyer can review it in minutes.

How much to ask

The Ley de Inquilinato (Tenancy Law) does not fix the amount of the security deposit. According to the UNAH legal clinic, "the value of the deposit, and whether it is paid upfront or in instalments, is agreed between the parties, and may be the equivalent of one or two months' rent". That is what you see in practice: one month for simple apartments, two for houses or furnished units.

What is worth putting in the lease:

• The amount, and whether it is paid at once or in instalments.
• What it covers: unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, damage beyond normal wear.
• That it is not the last month's rent. If the tenant "pays the last month with the deposit", you are left without a guarantee exactly when you need one. Write it down.
• When it is returned and how (bank transfer, within how many days).

What the tenant answers for when handing the home back

Here the law does speak, in the Civil Code. Article 1713 says the tenant "must return it in the condition in which it was delivered, taking into account the deterioration caused by legitimate use and enjoyment". Two ideas in there:

1. Normal wear is not deducted. Paint that dulled over two years, a floor with marks of use, a valve that loosened: that is living in the home, not damaging it. Article 51, item 5, of the Tenancy Law says the same from the other side: deterioration through the tenant's negligence is grounds for termination, "excepting only the normal wear due to use".
2. Everything else, yes. The same article 1713 adds that, as for damage during the tenancy, the tenant "must prove that it did not occur through their fault" or that of their guests, and "failing such proof, they are liable". Article 1707 extends it: the tenant answers "not only for their own fault, but for that of their family, guests and dependants".

And one sentence in 1713 that changes everything: "If the condition in which it was delivered is not recorded, it is understood to have been received in a fair state of service, unless the contrary is proven". Without a move-in inventory, the law presumes the home was in good shape, and the argument becomes what "fair" means. With an inventory, there is no argument.

What you can deduct (and what you can't)

With a lease and an inventory, the settlement is almost mechanical:

Deductible:

• Rent owed up to the hand-over date.
• Unpaid utilities that were the tenant's responsibility (water, power, maintenance fee), with the statement in hand.
• Damage that is not wear: a broken pane, a forced door, large holes in walls, an included appliance ruined by misuse.
• Cleaning, only if the lease says the home is handed back clean and it wasn't.

Not deductible:

• Painting and cleaning "for the next tenant" when the home was returned in reasonable condition.
• Repairs that were the landlord's all along (an old leak, faulty wiring); the Civil Code assigns those to the landlord (article 1693).
• Improvements the tenant made with your permission that stay in the home.

Every deduction with its proof: the glazier's invoice, the painter's quote, the water statement. Not a round figure "for damages".

How to return it without a fight: the method

1. Move-in inventory. The day you hand over the keys, walk the home with the tenant, photograph every room and any detail (a stain, a crack), note the condition and both sign. One page and twenty dated photos are enough.
2. Written notice of leaving. The law gives the tenant the right to end the lease with sixty days' notice (article 38). Use that time to schedule the move-out inspection.
3. Move-out inspection, with the same inventory in hand. Compare photo with photo. What was already there is not charged.
4. Written settlement. Deposit received, minus each deduction with its proof, equals what is returned. A copy for each.
5. Return on the agreed date. If the lease says fifteen days, fifteen days. A deposit that is "about to be returned" for two months is the origin of half of all complaints.

If there is no agreement

When landlord and tenant cannot agree, the place to raise it is the Departamento Administrativo de Inquilinato (DAI). Decree 866 expressly charges it with "receiving and returning deposits and making payments under this Law" (article 7) and with resolving "all questions arising from this Law that are not within the competence of other authorities". The tenant can file a claim there; arrive with the lease, the inventory and the settlement, and the conversation is short.

Where to keep all of this

The inventory, the move-in photos and the final settlement are only worth something if you can find them two years later. In Bevorah the tenant uploads their documents from the portal, the lease and the deposit are recorded on the unit, and every payment has a dated receipt; when the lease ends, the whole history is in one place, so the settlement takes ten minutes instead of an argument.

What an owner takes from this

One or two months' deposit, agreed in writing with a clear purpose. A photo inventory signed by both at move-in, because without it the law presumes the home was fine. Deductions with proof, a written settlement and the return on the date. With that, the deposit stops being the fight at the end and goes back to being what it was: a guarantee.

Sources

• Ley de Inquilinato, Decree 50 (1966) and its reform by Decree 866 (1979): articles 38 and 51; Decree 866, article 7. Full text in the Judiciary's PDF.
• Civil Code of Honduras: articles 1693, 1707, 1713 and 1714.
• UNAH Free Legal Clinic, tenancy FAQ.