The law reagarding interest on deposits is a San Francisco law and applies to all residential dwelling units in San Francisco, also regardless of whether or not they are covered by rent control. A landlord may charge a tenant a deposit to move into a residential dwelling unit. For example, a carpet that is only 3 years old and has a serious stain in it would probably qualify for a deduction from the security deposit. What constitutes normal wear and tear is something the Rent Board cannot determine or advise you about. A landlord may charge up to two months rent for an unfurnished unit and up to three months rent for a furnished unit.
State law is silent on the issue of increases in deposit after the payment of the initial deposit.
If ownership of the property changes during the tenancy, the landlord may either transfer the deposit to the new owner or return the deposit to the tenant. Tenants should make sure that their lease reflects the actual amount held as deposit before ownership changes. Within three weeks of the tenant vacating the unit, the landlord must return the full deposit to the tenant, or give the tenant a written itemized statement of the amount of security held and an accounting of the basis for keeping any of the deposit. A provision in a rental agreement or lease that characterizes a deposit as non-refundable is not enforceable. This allows the landlord to let the tenant know whether or not they intend to use the deposit to do any cleaning or to repair any damages that the tenant might be able to otherwise remedy in order to have the full deposit refunded.