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Real Estate vocabulary · Renting & Tenancies

Security deposit

Meaning in real estate, with examples

/sɪˈkjʊrəti dɪˌpɑːzɪt/nounCore term

In real estate, security deposit means: Money a tenant pays at the start of a lease, held to cover unpaid rent or damage and returned at the end if everything is in order.

In Turkish: depozito, güvence bedeli

How it is used

Often equal to one or two months' rent. Landlords take, hold or deduct from the deposit; tenants ask for it back when they move out. In England, deposits for most private tenancies must be protected in a government-approved scheme.

Example sentences

  1. The security deposit is two months' rent, payable when you sign.

  2. Part of their security deposit was kept to repair the damaged floor.

Common collocations

  • pay a security deposit
  • return the security deposit
  • deduct from the deposit
  • deposit protection
  • leaseA legal contract in which an owner lets a tenant use a property for a fixed period in return for rent, setting out the rights and duties of both sides.
  • tenantA person or business that pays rent to live in or use a property owned by someone else, usually under a lease.
  • wear and tearThe normal damage that happens to a property and its contents over time through everyday use, such as worn carpets or faded paint.
  • inventoryA detailed list, often with photos, of a rented property's contents and their condition, checked when the tenant moves in and again when they leave.
  • rentThe money a tenant pays regularly, usually every month, to live in or use a property that belongs to someone else.

More terms: Renting & Tenancies

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