Rental Deposit Refund Calculator: Interest Owed and the 7 & 14-Day Deadlines
Calculate the interest owed and the full refund due under the Rental Housing Act: deposit plus accrued interest, minus lawful deductions. For landlords and tenants.
Quick answer: Under Section 5(3) of the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999, SA landlords must invest deposits in an interest-bearing account for the tenant's benefit. With no deductions owed, the deposit plus interest is due within 7 days of lease expiry; with lawful deductions after an outgoing inspection, the balance is due within 14 days of restoration.
7 days or 14 days: which deadline actually applies to you? See exactly which trigger date starts each clock, plus a worked example comparing both scenarios.
Read: 7 vs 14-Day Rule Explained →Deposit Interest & Refund Calculator: Rental Housing Act
Deposit + interest earned − agreed deductions = refund due
🏛️ Rental Housing Tribunal: Free Dispute Resolution
If you have a dispute about a deposit refund, the Rental Housing Tribunal provides free dispute resolution in all provinces. A Tribunal ruling is deemed to be an order of a magistrate's court (s13(13)). Contact your provincial Tribunal:
How to Use This Calculator
- Select your roleChoose landlord if you're calculating the refund you owe, or tenant if you're checking what you're owed.
- Enter the deposit and monthly rentEnter the original deposit paid and the monthly rent, so the calculator can check whether the deposit looks typical (one to two months' rent; the Act sets no maximum).
- Enter the lease start and end datesThe calculator uses these to work out how many days the deposit was held and to calculate the interest earned.
- Enter the interest rateEnter the rate your bank paid on the investment account, checking your bank statement if you're unsure. Defaults to 6.75%.
- Enter any deductions and confirm the inspectionEnter damage, rent or other deductions supported by invoices, and confirm whether a joint outgoing inspection was conducted.
- Click Calculate Deposit RefundResults show the refund due, the interest earned, and the 7 or 14-day deadline by which it must be paid.
Generate a Compliant Rental Agreement
Use the Rental Agreement Generator to create a legally compliant SA lease with correct deposit clauses under the Rental Housing Act.
Rental Agreement Generator →How the Rental Housing Act Governs Deposits in South Africa
The Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 (RHA) is the primary legislation governing residential rental deposits in South Africa. Section 5(3) of the Act requires landlords to invest deposits in interest-bearing accounts, with the interest accruing to the tenant's benefit. This is a non-negotiable statutory requirement: lease agreements that purport to allow the landlord to retain interest are unenforceable.
The deposit refund process is governed by the inspection rules in Section 5(3) of the Rental Housing Act. The landlord must offer the tenant a joint inspection at move-in and a joint outgoing inspection at move-out. If an outgoing inspection is conducted and damages are found, the landlord may deduct the repair cost from the deposit, refunding the balance within 14 days of the dwelling being restored. If the landlord does not arrange an outgoing inspection, or no amounts are owed, the landlord cannot make deductions and the full deposit plus interest must be returned within 7 days of the lease ending. If the tenant does not respond to the inspection request, the landlord may inspect alone and deduct, refunding the balance within 21 days of the lease ending.
Fair Wear and Tear vs Damage: The Critical Distinction
The most common dispute in SA rental deposit refunds is the boundary between fair wear and tear (not deductible) and actual damage (deductible). Fair wear and tear is the normal deterioration from reasonable use over time: scuff marks on walls, minor carpet wear, faded paint, small nail holes from picture hooks. These are the landlord's cost of doing business and cannot be recovered from the deposit.
Actual damage that can be deducted includes holes in walls, broken doors or windows, stained carpets, burns, broken fixtures and damage caused by negligence. The landlord must quantify the damage with quotes or invoices from contractors. Betterment is not recoverable: if an 8-year-old carpet needs replacing, the landlord can only recover the depreciated value, not the full replacement cost of new carpet.
Landlords who attempt to deduct for fair wear and tear or who cannot produce itemised invoices for claimed damages are in breach of the Act. A landlord who cannot substantiate deductions with documentary evidence is unlikely to succeed before the Tribunal.
Section 5(3) Deposit Refund Timelines: 7 Days vs 14 Days
Section 5(3) of the Rental Housing Act sets separate deadlines depending on what happens at lease end. The table below maps each scenario to its deadline: count each deadline from the date in the table's third column; the 7-day clock starts when the lease actually terminates, not when the tenant physically vacates, if those differ.
| Scenario | Deadline | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| No amounts owing: no deductions | 7 days | Expiration of the lease |
| Deductions agreed after a joint outgoing inspection | 14 days | Restoration of the dwelling to the landlord |
| Tenant unresponsive to the inspection request | 21 days | Expiration of the lease (outer limit) |
The Act requires a joint outgoing inspection: the landlord and tenant inspect the dwelling together, ideally in the days immediately around the lease ending, and record its condition in writing. If the tenant is available and no defects are found, no deductions may be made and the 7-day rule applies. For the full statutory text, see the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 on SAFLII.
Failure to refund within the applicable deadline constitutes a breach of the Act. Tenants have several remedies: approaching the Rental Housing Tribunal (free; rulings are enforceable as magistrate's court orders), sending a formal letter of demand or issuing summons in the Small Claims Court for amounts up to R30,000 (the limit since 1 August 2026). Most tenants start with the Tribunal: the Act refers unfair-practice disputes, including a failure to refund a deposit, to the Tribunal. If the landlord is uncontactable or refuses to engage, the Small Claims Court is the next practical step.
Deposit Management Best Practice for SA Landlords
SA landlords who manage deposits correctly protect themselves from Tribunal complaints and ensure the refund process is smooth. Best practice includes opening a dedicated savings or money market account per property (or per tenancy), documenting the account details in the lease, providing the tenant with bank confirmation that the deposit is invested and sharing annual bank statements showing interest accrued.
At move-in and move-out, conduct joint inspections with the tenant and document the condition in writing, signed by both parties. A detailed photographic record at both inspections is essential. If deductions are needed, provide a written schedule of deductions with supporting invoices within the 14-day period. Landlords who follow this process consistently are rarely troubled by Tribunal complaints, and when they are, they have documentary evidence to defend their position. The RHA specifically requires that deposit interest be calculated at the rate applicable to a savings account with the financial institution where the deposit is held.
Manual Calculation: A Deposit Interest Example
Say a tenant pays a R17,000 deposit (2 months' rent on a R8,500/month lease) at the start of a 12-month lease, held at a market interest rate of approximately 7.25% per year. Using simple interest as a conservative estimate, R17,000 × 7.25% × (12 ÷ 12) = R1,233 in interest accrued over the year. This interest belongs to the tenant, not the landlord, and must be added to the refund unless lawful deductions for damage beyond fair wear and tear apply. A landlord who fails to pay this interest, or who deducts for normal wear and tear, risks a Rental Housing Tribunal ruling against them. Keeping the deposit in a dedicated, clearly documented interest-bearing account from day one avoids disputes over how much interest has actually accrued by the time the tenant moves out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Under Section 5(3) of the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999, the landlord must invest the deposit in an interest-bearing account. The rate may not be lower than the financial institution's savings-account rate. The total refund due to the tenant at the end of the lease is the original deposit plus all interest earned, less any agreed deductions for damages beyond fair wear and tear, or outstanding rent and utilities.
Under Section 5(3) of the Rental Housing Act, if no amounts are owed to the landlord, the full deposit plus interest must be refunded within 7 days of the lease ending. If lawful deductions apply after a joint outgoing inspection, the landlord may apply the deposit to the repair cost but must refund the balance within 14 days of the dwelling being restored to the landlord. Failure to refund within the applicable period constitutes a breach of the Act and can be reported to the Rental Housing Tribunal.
Yes, but only for damages beyond fair wear and tear, and outstanding rent or utility payments. Fair wear and tear (normal deterioration from reasonable use over time) cannot be deducted. The landlord cannot deduct for painting the entire property after a normal tenancy, replacing items that reached the end of their lifespan, or general cleaning. Deductions must be supported by quotes or invoices.
The Rental Housing Tribunal is a dispute resolution body established under the Rental Housing Act to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. There is one in every province, and neither party pays anything from the filing of a complaint to the end of a mediation or hearing. It can adjudicate disputes about deposit refunds, maintenance, harassment, illegal lockouts and other unfair practices. A party who is unhappy with the proceedings can take the matter to the High Court on review. The Tribunal does not hear applications for eviction orders. Tenants who have not received their deposit back within the prescribed period should approach the Tribunal.
Yes. The Rental Housing Act requires the landlord to invest the deposit in an interest-bearing account at a financial institution. The interest accrues to the benefit of the tenant and must be paid to the tenant at the end of the lease together with the deposit refund (less any agreed deductions). The deposit stays the tenant's money during the tenancy.
If a landlord does not refund the deposit within the prescribed period, the tenant can: (1) approach the Rental Housing Tribunal (free), which can rule that the landlord comply with the Act, including paying the deposit with accrued interest; (2) send a letter of demand giving about 7 days to pay (common practice, not a statutory period); (3) issue summons in the Small Claims Court (claims up to R30,000 since 1 August 2026) at minimal cost; (4) obtain a default judgment if the landlord does not respond. Non-refund of a deposit is a common complaint, and a Tribunal ruling is enforceable as a magistrate's court order.
The Rental Housing Act sets no maximum deposit. Section 5(3)(c) lets the deposit be an amount specified in the lease or otherwise agreed between the parties, so the written lease decides. One to two months' rent is the usual range, which is a market convention and not a legal limit: on a rent of R10,000 a month that is R10,000 to R20,000. The deposit must be held in an interest-bearing account, and top-ups during the lease need the tenant's agreement.
Fair wear and tear is the normal, gradual deterioration of a property from reasonable everyday use over the course of a tenancy. Examples include minor scuff marks on walls, small nail holes from picture hooks, slight carpet wear along traffic routes and faded paint. These are the landlord's normal cost of ownership and cannot be deducted from the deposit. Damage that exceeds fair wear and tear (such as holes in walls, broken fixtures, stained carpets or burns) can be deducted, supported by invoices.
Fill in the prescribed complaint form and give it to your provincial Rental Housing Tribunal: in person at its office, electronically, or at the Rental Housing Information Office at your municipality. A tenant, a landlord or a group of tenants or landlords can lodge a complaint, and it costs nothing. The Tribunal registers the complaint, checks that it has jurisdiction, writes to both sides and arranges mediation. If mediation fails, it holds a hearing and makes an order that binds both parties. Each provincial office's number is listed on this page.