Getting the Security Deposit Back: What the Data Shows

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How Many Renters Get Their Deposit Back?

By The Rental Lister · Published November 11, 2026 · Data: Zillow renter surveys; Federal Trade Commission; Nevada Revised Statutes

Only 42% of U.S. renters who moved out of a rental said they got their whole security deposit back, and 20% got none of it (Zillow renter survey, 2023). No public source gives a Nevada or Las Vegas figure.

Key Numbers

• 42%of U.S. renters who moved from a rental got their whole deposit back; 20% got noneZillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2023 (national)
• 46%of those who had paid a deposit got all of it back (our calculation: 42 ÷ 91)Zillow 2023, our calculation
• 27%of U.S. renters who moved disagreed with their last landlord about repairs, damage or maintenance, the most common disputeZillow 2023 (national)
• 30 daysfor a Nevada landlord to give an itemized accounting and return any balanceNRS 118A.242(4)

All of it

42%

Most of it

20%

Some of it

10%

None of it

20%

Never paid one

9%

Base: U.S. renters who moved from another rental. Shares are rounded, so they do not add to exactly 100%. Source: Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2023, five national surveys of more than 3,000 renters each, April to July 2023. National figures; no Nevada figure is published.

Among Renters Who Paid, Fewer Than Half Got It All Back

The 42% is a share of every renter who moved from another rental, including the 9% who never paid a deposit there. About 91% had paid one. Among them, about 46% got all of it back (our calculation, 42 ÷ 91). Zillow’s survey ran from April to July 2023 across more than 21,000 renters, weighted to Census data (Zillow, November 10, 2023).

Disputes Turn on Repairs

In the same survey, 52% of renters who moved said they disagreed with their previous landlord or property manager about something. The most common subject was repairs, damage or maintenance (27%), ahead of utility payments (22%) and move-out costs or fees (19%).

How Big Deposits Are

These figures are national, from Zillow’s 2025 survey of more than 24,400 renters (Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2025). 83% of recent renters paid a deposit, and the median among those who paid was $800. Deposits on houses are larger: renters of single-family detached homes who paid one reported a median of $1,200 and an average of $3,018, against a median of $1,000 and an average of $1,150 in buildings with 50 or more units.

A Federal Case and Proposed Rules

In September 2024 the Federal Trade Commission alleged that Invitation Homes, a large owner of single-family rentals, returned 39.2% of the deposit dollars it collected from 2020 to 2022, against a national average of 63.9%; the FTC does not say how that average was calculated. The company settled for $48 million without admitting wrongdoing (FTC, September 24, 2024). It told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in August 2025 that it owns 3,397 homes in the Las Vegas Valley (Review-Journal, August 20, 2025).

In March 2026 the FTC asked for comment on possible rules for rental fees, including whether landlords should be barred from withholding deposit money for normal wear and tear or pre-existing problems, and whether withholdings should have to match the actual cost of repairs (Federal Register, March 13, 2026). Nevada’s Attorney General, Aaron D. Ford, was one of 27 state attorneys general who urged the FTC to write rental-fee rules (letter of April 13, 2026). Comments closed on April 13, 2026, and no proposed rule had been published when we checked on November 11, 2026.

What Nevada Law Says

Nevada’s rules are in NRS 118A.242, last changed in 2021. This is a description of the statute, not legal advice.

What This Means for Owners

• Most disputes are about condition. A dated, photographed record at move-in is what turns a damage question into a simple comparison. See our guide to move-in and move-out inspections.
• Deduct only what the law allows. Unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and reasonable cleaning, itemized in writing.
• Mind the 30 days. Missing the deadline can cost the deposit plus up to the same amount again. Our guide to Nevada security deposit rules covers the details.
• Get advice on close calls. Whether a particular deduction would hold up is a question for a Nevada attorney, not a statistic.

Method and Sources

Return shares are Zillow’s published figures for renters who moved from another rental; the 46% among those who paid is our calculation. Deposit sizes are from Zillow’s 2025 tables for renters who paid a deposit. A split widely repeated on landlord-software websites (42, 18, 9, 24 and 9 percent) does not match Zillow’s own report, so we use Zillow’s figures. No public source reports how much of a deposit Nevada or Las Vegas renters get back. The statute was read at leg.state.nv.us on November 11, 2026.

• Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2023, renters: www.zillow.com/research/renters-consumer-housing-trends-report-2023-33317/
• Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2025, renters: www.zillow.com/research/renters-housing-trends-report-2025-35647/
• FTC, Invitation Homes settlement, September 24, 2024: www.ftc.gov/node/86362
• FTC, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Rental Housing Fee Practices, advance notice, March 13, 2026: www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/13/2026-04907/rule-on-unfair-or-deceptive-rental-housing-fee-practices
• 27 state attorneys general, letter to the FTC, April 13, 2026: www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026-0413_Letter-to-FTC-Rental-Fees_FINAL.pdf
• Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 118A: www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-118A.html

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