SECURITY DEPOSIT RECEIPT
Place: __________
Date: __________
1. The parties and the property
1.1 Landlord: __________, of __________ (the "Landlord").
1.2 Tenant: __________, of __________ (the "Tenant").
1.3 Premises: __________ (the "Premises"). Use: __________.
2. What this receipt relates to
2.1 The Landlord and the Tenant have entered into a rent agreement dated __________ for the Premises (the "Rent Agreement"). The tenancy under it begins on __________. The agreed monthly rent is __________.
2.2 This receipt records the security deposit paid under the Rent Agreement and confirms the terms on which it is held and refunded. It confirms what the parties have already agreed. It does not create a new tenancy, and it does not vary the Rent Agreement. If anything here conflicts with the Rent Agreement, the Rent Agreement prevails.
2.3 This receipt is issued in two identical copies. The Tenant keeps the original.
3. Acknowledgement of receipt
3.1 The Landlord acknowledges having received from the Tenant a sum of __________ (the "Deposit").
3.2 The Deposit was paid on __________ by Bank transfer (NEFT / RTGS / IMPS / UPI). Payment reference: __________.
3.3 The Deposit has been received in full. Nothing further is due from the Tenant on account of the security deposit.
4. What the Deposit is — and what it is not
4.1 The Deposit is a refundable security deposit. The Landlord holds it only as security for the Tenant's obligations under the Rent Agreement, and it stays repayable to the Tenant on the terms in clause 6.
4.2 The Deposit is not rent, and it is not rent paid in advance for any month of the tenancy.
4.3 The Deposit is not a premium, fine, pagdi, salami, key money or any other non-refundable payment for the grant of the tenancy, and it is not payment for goodwill, furniture or fittings.
4.4 Because the Deposit is refundable and is not rent, the parties have not treated it as the Landlord's rental income. If any part of the Deposit is later applied towards rent by written agreement between the parties, that part will be treated as rent from the date it is applied, and each party will then meet the tax obligations that arise on rent, including deduction of tax at source where it applies.
4.5 Neither party may unilaterally convert the Deposit into rent. In particular, the Tenant may not stop paying rent for the last month or months of the tenancy on the basis that the Deposit covers it, and the Landlord may not appropriate the Deposit towards rent that has not yet fallen due.
5. Interest
5.1 Interest payable by the Landlord on the Deposit during the tenancy: No interest.
5.2 Any interest agreed under clause 5.1 is paid together with the refund under clause 6.
6. When the Deposit comes back
6.1 The Landlord will refund the Deposit to the Tenant — with any interest under clause 5, and less only such deductions as clause 7 permits — within __________ days of the later of:
(a) the Tenant handing back vacant possession of the Premises together with all keys, access cards and remotes; and
(b) the end of the tenancy or its earlier termination.
6.2 The refund will be made by electronic bank transfer or account-payee cheque in the Tenant's name. Where the Deposit is Rs. 20,000 or more, sections 269SS and 269T of the Income-tax Act, 1961 require both the payment and the repayment of the Deposit to be made otherwise than in cash, and both parties will comply with that requirement.
6.3 Refund of the Deposit is not conditional on the Landlord finding a replacement tenant, on the sale of the Premises, or on the Tenant signing any release or giving up any claim.
6.4 If the Deposit is not refunded within the period in clause 6.1, the unpaid amount will carry simple interest at 12% per annum from the date it fell due until it is actually paid. This is in addition to, and not instead of, any other remedy available to the Tenant.
7. What may and may not be deducted
7.1 The Landlord may deduct from the Deposit only the following, and only to the extent actually owed or actually spent:
(a) rent due and unpaid up to the date vacant possession is handed back;
(b) electricity, water, piped gas, internet, cable and similar utility charges, and society or apartment-association maintenance charges, which the Tenant is liable to pay under the Rent Agreement and has not paid up to that date;
(c) the reasonable cost of making good damage to the Premises, fixtures or fittings caused by the Tenant or by the Tenant's family, staff or visitors, beyond normal wear and tear;
(d) the reasonable cost of replacing keys, access cards or remotes that are not returned;
(e) any municipal or statutory charge arising from the Tenant's occupation which the Tenant is liable to pay under the Rent Agreement and has not paid; and
(f) any other amount that the Rent Agreement expressly allows to be deducted from the Deposit.
7.2 The Landlord may not deduct for:
(a) normal wear and tear from ordinary use, including faded or marked paint, small nail holes, and the ageing of fittings;
(b) routine repainting, deep cleaning or pest control, unless the Rent Agreement expressly makes the Tenant liable for it;
(c) structural repairs, or the repair or replacement of anything that has failed through age, inherent defect, or the Landlord's failure to maintain it;
(d) property tax, society corpus or sinking fund contributions, building insurance, or any other outgoing that is the Landlord's own liability;
(e) brokerage or commission paid by the Landlord, whether for this tenancy or the next one; or
(f) loss of rent for any period after the Tenant has handed back vacant possession.
7.3 If the Landlord makes any deduction, the Landlord will give the Tenant a written, itemised statement of each deduction, with copies of the bills, receipts or written estimates relied on, within the period in clause 6.1. If no such statement is given within that period, the Deposit is refundable in full.
7.4 Deductions under this receipt are capped at the amount of the Deposit. If the Tenant owes more than the Deposit, the Landlord may recover the balance separately; and deducting from the Deposit does not by itself settle all claims between the parties unless they record a settlement in writing.
8. Joint inspection at handover
8.1 The Landlord and the Tenant will inspect the Premises together on the day vacant possession is handed back, or on a date agreed within seven days of it, and will record in writing, signed by both, the condition of the Premises and the final meter readings.
8.2 If the Landlord does not attend an inspection after being given reasonable written notice of it, the Tenant's own written record of the condition and the meter readings, made on the day of handover, will be treated as correct.
9. If the Premises are sold or the Landlord changes
9.1 If the Landlord sells, gifts or otherwise transfers the Premises or the Landlord's interest in them before the Deposit is refunded, the Landlord will either refund the Deposit to the Tenant before the transfer, or obtain from the transferee a written acknowledgement that the transferee holds the Deposit on the same terms as this receipt and will refund it. Until the Deposit is actually refunded to the Tenant, the Landlord remains liable for it.
9.2 This receipt binds the legal heirs, successors, executors and permitted assignees of both parties.
10. Notices
10.1 Any notice under this receipt must be in writing and delivered to the address of the other party in clause 1 — by hand against written acknowledgement, by registered post with acknowledgement due, or by reputed courier — or sent to an email address the parties have actually used for correspondence about this tenancy.
10.2 A party who changes address must inform the other in writing within seven days. Until they do, a notice sent to the last address given remains valid.
11. Governing law and jurisdiction
11.1 This receipt is governed by the laws of India. The courts at __________, and where applicable the rent authority or rent court having jurisdiction over the Premises, will decide any dispute arising out of it.
11.2 Nothing in this receipt takes away any right or remedy either party has under the rent control or tenancy law applicable to the Premises.
12. Stamp
12.1 A revenue stamp of Re. 1 is affixed to this receipt and cancelled by the Landlord's signature written across it, as required for a receipt for a sum above Rs. 5,000 under Article 53 of Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 or the corresponding provision of the stamp law of the state in which it is signed.
SIGNATURES
LANDLORD — I have received the Deposit and I agree to the terms recorded above
Signature: ______________________________
Name: __________
Date: __________
(Affix Re. 1 revenue stamp here and sign across it)
TENANT — I have paid the Deposit and I agree to the terms recorded above
Signature: ______________________________
Name: __________
Date: __________
WITNESSES (optional — useful where the Deposit was paid in cash or handed over in person)
- Name: ______________________________ Signature: ______________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
- Name: ______________________________ Signature: ______________________
Address: ______________________________________________________