Nebraska: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Nebraska's deposit rules live in one section of its Uniform Residential
Landlord and Tenant Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416.

Deadline to return the deposit

The statute requires the balance and "a written itemization" to be
"delivered or mailed to the tenant within fourteen days after the date of
termination of the tenancy" (§ 76-1416(2)). Nebraska's Supreme Court has
settled what that means in practice: "the 14-day limitation language in
subsection (2) of this section refers to the time allowed the landlord to
return the deposit, not the time in which a demand must be made by the
vacating tenant" (Hilliard v. Robertson, 253 Neb. 232 (1997)) — so the
clock starts running at termination itself, whether or not you've made a
demand or given a forwarding address. If you haven't given the landlord a
mailing address, the landlord must mail the balance and itemization to
your last-known address by first-class mail.

Itemized statement required?

Yes, whenever the landlord withholds any part of the deposit — a written
itemization must be delivered or mailed within the same 14-day window
(§ 76-1416(2)).

What can be deducted

The deposit may be applied to "the payment of rent and the amount of
damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's
noncompliance with the rental agreement or section 76-1421"
(§ 76-1416(2)). That cross-referenced section spells out the tenant's own
maintenance duty, including the obligation to leave the unit "in as clean
condition, excepting ordinary wear and tear, as when the tenancy
commenced" (§ 76-1421(2)) — so while the deposit statute itself doesn't
use the phrase "wear and tear," the duty it's tied to does.

Maximum deposit amount

The cap is "one month's periodic rent," plus an optional "pet deposit not
in excess of one-fourth of one month's periodic rent" (§ 76-1416(1)). That
cap doesn't apply to housing agencies organized under the Nebraska Housing
Agency Act.

Interest on the deposit?

No. Nothing in § 76-1416 requires interest on a held deposit.

Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding

A landlord who fails to comply owes "the property and money due,"
"court costs," and "reasonable attorney's fees" (§ 76-1416(3)) —
Nebraska's courts treat the attorney-fee award as something a prevailing
tenant is entitled to "as a matter of right," not something left to a
judge's discretion (Lomack v. Kohl-Watts, 13 Neb. App. 14 (2004)). On top
of that, if the noncompliance was "willful and not in good faith," the
tenant can also recover "an amount equal to one month's periodic rent or
two times the amount of the security deposit, whichever is less, as
liquidated damages" (§ 76-1416(3)) — notably the LESSER of those two
figures, not the greater, which can cap the penalty below a full deposit
multiplier when the deposit is small relative to rent.

Separate account or bond required?

No. Nothing in § 76-1416 requires a landlord to hold a deposit in a
segregated account, an interest-bearing account, or a bond.

What trips people up

Don't wait to send a demand before counting the days — the clock is
already running. Because the 14 days start at termination itself, not
at your demand, a tenant who delays sending a forwarding address or
demand letter doesn't get extra time; the landlord's deadline (and any
missed-deadline penalty) is measured from termination regardless.

A small deposit means a small liquidated-damages penalty. Since the
willful/bad-faith penalty is capped at the LESSER of one month's rent or
2x the deposit, a low deposit relative to rent won't automatically produce
a larger payout by doubling — check both figures before assuming the
bigger one applies.

An abandoned refund check doesn't just sit there forever. If your
mailed refund is undeliverable, or you never cash it within a year, the
money is turned over to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property rather
than staying with the landlord indefinitely.

Common questions

My landlord hasn't sent anything 14 days after I moved out — what am I
owed? The deposit due, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees as a
matter of right. If the landlord's failure was willful and in bad faith,
add liquidated damages equal to the lesser of one month's rent or 2 times
the deposit.

Do I need to give a forwarding address to start the clock? No —
Nebraska courts have confirmed the 14 days run from the tenancy's
termination, not from any demand or forwarding address you provide.

Do I get interest on my deposit while it's held? No. Nebraska's
statute doesn't require it.

Statutes and sources

• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(1) — deposit cap and pet-deposit allowance.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=76-1416 (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2) — permitted deductions, itemization duty, and the 14-day deadline.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=76-1416 (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(3) — recovery of amounts due, fees, and the lesser-of liquidated-damages penalty.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=76-1416 (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1421(2) — tenant's maintenance duty, including the ordinary-wear-and-tear exception.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=76-1421 (accessed 2026-07-06)