Delaware Landlord-Tenant Law

Maximum deposit

For leases of one year or more, landlords may not require a security deposit above one month's rent, and month-to-month tenants must be credited any excess over one month after a year; furnished units are exempt (25 Del. C. § 5514(a)). (25 Del. C. § 5514(a), (i); § 5514A(d))

Return deadline

Landlords must return the deposit, or send an itemized list of damages with any balance, within 20 days after the lease ends or terminates (25 Del. C. § 5514(e), (f)). (25 Del. C. § 5514(e), (f), (h))

Itemized deductions

A landlord keeping any of the deposit must give an itemized list of damages with estimated repair costs within 20 days, or is treated as acknowledging that nothing is owed (25 Del. C. § 5514(f)). (25 Del. C. § 5514(f))

Interest on deposits

Delaware law does not require landlords to pay interest on security deposits, but deposits must be held in a separate escrow account at a federally insured bank with an office in Delaware (25 Del. C. § 5514(b)). (25 Del. C. § 5514(b) (escrow account; silent on interest))

Penalty for wrongful withholding

A landlord who does not return the deposit or balance within 20 days owes the tenant double the amount wrongfully withheld (25 Del. C. § 5514(g)(1)). (25 Del. C. § 5514(g))

Late-fee limit

If the lease provides for a late charge, it may not exceed 5% of the monthly rent (25 Del. C. § 5501(d)). (25 Del. C. § 5501(d))

Grace period

A late charge may not be imposed within 5 days after rent is due, and the due date moves 3 days later if the landlord has no office in the unit's county where rent can be paid (25 Del. C. § 5501(d)). (25 Del. C. § 5501(d))

Give the tenant at least 48 hours' notice before entering, and enter only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., unless the tenant asked for the repair or there is an emergency (25 Del. C. § 5509(b)). (25 Del. C. § 5509(b))

Either side may end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 60 days' written notice, counted from the first day of the month after the notice is given (25 Del. C. § 5106(d)). (25 Del. C. § 5106(c)–(d))

To renew a tenancy at a higher rent, give the tenant written notice at least 60 days before the current term expires, stating the new rent and when it takes effect (25 Del. C. § 5107(a)). (25 Del. C. § 5107)

Delaware has no rent control on apartments or houses, so rent can be raised at renewal subject to the 60-day notice rule; only manufactured-home community lot rents above an inflation-based amount must be justified under a separate law (25 Del. C. ch. 51, ch. 55; 25 Del. C. §§ 7050-7055). (25 Del. C. ch. 51 and ch. 55 (Residential Landlord-Tenant Code; no rent-limit provision), 25 Del. C. §§ 7050-7055 (Manufactured home communities: Rent Increase Justification))

Every written lease must prominently list the names and business addresses of the owners or their resident agents (and anyone deemed a landlord), the tenant gets a free copy of the lease, and a new tenant must receive the Attorney General's summary of the Landlord-Tenant Code at the start of the term (25 Del. C. §§ 5105, 5118). (25 Del. C. §§ 5105, 5118, 40 CFR 745.107)

• Lead-based paint disclosure, lead warning statement and EPA pamphlet (Housing built before 1978 (unless exempt under 40 CFR 745.101)) — 42 U.S.C. § 4852d; 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F (§ 745.107)
• Names and usual business addresses of the owners or their resident agents, and of anyone deemed a landlord under § 5141 (Prominently on every written rental agreement; on demand for oral agreements) — 25 Del. C. § 5105(a)-(b)
• Free copy of the written rental agreement (Written rental agreements) — 25 Del. C. § 5105(b)
• Attorney General's Summary of the Delaware Residential Landlord-Tenant Code (To each new tenant at the beginning of the rental term) — 25 Del. C. § 5118

Unpaid rent

Once the 5-day late-fee grace period has passed, a landlord may demand the past-due rent in writing and, since Sept. 1, 2026, must give the tenant at least 7 days after the notice to pay before filing for summary possession; full payment before filing ends the case (25 Del. C. § 5502(a), (c)). (25 Del. C. § 5502(a), (c)-(d), SS 1 for SB 116 (85 Del. Laws c. 436), effective Sept. 1, 2026)

• In effect since September 1, 2026.
• Before September 1, 2026: The demand notice had to give the tenant at least 5 days to pay before the landlord could file (25 Del. C. § 5502(a) before SS 1 for SB 116).

Lease violations

For a breach of a material lease rule or covenant, give written notice naming the rule and allow at least 7 days to cure; a substantially similar breach within a year can be acted on without a new cure period, and breaches causing irreparable harm allow immediate termination (25 Del. C. § 5513(a)-(b)). (25 Del. C. § 5513(a)-(b))