Security Deposit Alternative in Connecticut
Connecticut caps a security deposit at two months' rent, and at one month once the resident turns 62, and treats the money as the resident's property the whole time you hold it. It sits in escrow at a Connecticut financial institution, the resident gets written notice of where, and it earns them interest. You have 21 days after the tenancy ends, or 15 days after you receive a forwarding address, whichever is later, to return it with the interest. Get that wrong and you owe twice the deposit.
What Connecticut law says about security deposits
Read from the Connecticut statute on 2026-09-10. Deposit rules change, and this is general information rather than legal advice. Confirm the current text with your own counsel before you change a lease.
Can you require it of every Connecticut resident?
Connecticut has no statute written for a monthly fee charged instead of a deposit, so the arrangement rests on your lease and the general deposit rules. Those rules treat the deposit as the resident's money throughout. Section 47a-21 says a deposit remains the property of the tenant, with the landlord holding only a security interest in it, exempt from the landlord's own creditors. It has to be held in escrow at a Connecticut financial institution, with written notice to the resident of the bank and the amount within 30 days, and it earns interest that is paid over. The cap is two months' rent, dropping to one month once the resident turns 62, at which point the excess has to be returned on request. At the end of the tenancy you have 21 days, or 15 days after receiving a forwarding address if that is later, to return the deposit with accrued interest or an itemized statement of damages. Breach the section and you owe twice the deposit.
Rules differ by state and by city, and subsidized housing is its own question. This is general information for property managers, not legal advice. Get a written opinion before you make the fee a condition of tenancy anywhere.
How the program works in Connecticut
The mechanics are the same in every state Beagle operates in. The program is designed to comply with applicable state and local regulations, and the rate is set by the deposit amount rather than by geography, so a Connecticut property and one two states over are quoted the same way.
The resident chooses at signing
Instead of producing the full deposit, the resident pays a smaller non-refundable monthly fee that is billed with rent. Nothing is held, so nothing has to be returned.
The property keeps its protection
Damage beyond normal wear is reimbursed up to the deposit amount the unit would otherwise have required, so what you can recover does not shrink.
Move-out stops being a negotiation
A claim is filed against the program rather than deducted from money you are holding, which takes the itemised-deduction letter and the dispute that follows it off your team's desk.
You earn on every resident who takes it
You set an administrative fee on top of the premium, up to $5 per unit per month, and keep it.
Connecticut security deposit alternative FAQs
Connecticut has no statute answering that, so a mandatory version is a question for your own attorney. The escrow, interest and property rules in section 47a-21 all attach to money held as a deposit, so whether anything is being held at all is the first thing that review should settle.
Security deposit rules in other states
See it on your Connecticut units
Run the program against your own unit count, or walk through it with our team. No upfront fees, no onboarding charges, no long-term contracts.