Alberta security deposit settlement

The rules this tool is built on

Alberta's Residential Tenancies Act sets out what a landlord may keep from a security deposit and by when it has to be dealt with. The parts that cost people money:

Both inspection reports, or no deduction at all

A move-in inspection report and a move-out inspection report are each required, and each must be done within one week before or after the tenant takes or gives up possession. If either is missing, the landlord may not deduct for damage — the whole deposit goes back regardless of the state of the unit. The landlord must offer the tenant two times for each inspection; if the tenant declines both, you proceed and record that.

Ten days, with one narrow exception

Within 10 days of the tenant giving up possession the landlord must either return the full deposit plus interest, or deliver an itemized statement of account together with the balance. The only exception is where the cost of repairs or cleaning genuinely cannot be known in time: then an estimated statement goes out within the 10 days, and the final statement with any money still owing follows within 30 days. The 30 days is not an alternative to the 10 — it only exists to finalize an estimate you already sent. Missing the deadline is how landlords end up returning money they were entitled to keep.

Normal wear is not damage

Carpet that has thinned over four years, paint that has dulled, hinges that have loosened — these are the cost of renting a unit out, not a deduction. Damage is what a tenant did beyond ordinary use: the burn, the anchor holes, the missing screen. If the move-in report doesn't show the item in good condition, the deduction is very hard to defend.

The deposit sits in trust

A security deposit must be placed in an interest-bearing trust account within two days of being collected, and interest accrues at a rate set each year by regulation. Interest is payable to the tenant annually, unless both parties have agreed in writing that it compounds and is paid at the end of the tenancy.

If you disagree

Deposit disputes in Alberta go to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service, which handles claims up to $100,000, generally within two years of when the loss came to your attention. RTDRS decisions turn on documentation — dated photos of the same item at move-in and move-out win these; recollections don't.

Prescribed interest rates

Rates as published by the Government of Alberta. The rate for each year is the ATB Financial cashable one-year GIC rate on 1 November of the previous year, less three percentage points, floored at zero.

Common questions