Guides
How to Pay Security Deposit Interest in British Columbia
BC security deposit interest rate: landlords must pay annual interest set by the Residential Tenancy Branch. Here is the step-by-step method.
What to take away
- The Residential Tenancy Branch sets the interest rate on security deposits each calendar year, and it has been 0.00% every year since 2009.
- Interest accrues year by year, so a zero rate removes the money but not the calculation or the record.
- Return the deposit plus interest within 15 days of the later of the move-out day or the arrival of the tenant's written forwarding address.
- Interest is calculated on the original deposit, before any deduction for damage or unpaid rent.
- A late return with no lawful excuse can lead to an order for double the deposit.
What has to be true before you calculate
A security deposit is money held against damage or unpaid rent. BC caps it at half a month's rent when rent is paid monthly, and the agreement must state the amount in writing. Security deposit rules differ across provinces, so work from the agreement you actually signed.
Five things drive the calculation: deposit amount, date received, the Branch's rate for each year held, the receipt, and the inspection reports. A pet damage deposit follows the same rule and needs its own line.
[figure 1]
Before You Calculate Deposit Interest
- Deposit amount in Canadian dollars
- Date you received the deposit
- Date you returned or plan to return
- BC interest rate for each calendar year
- Original receipt and inspection reports
Check that the deposit was taken under a BC agreement before you apply BC rates. Canadian lease forms by province shows how the BC form differs from Ontario's when you pull an old file.
The rate the Branch publishes each year
The Branch publishes a rate for every calendar year, and each year's rate covers only the months a deposit was held in that year.
| Calendar year | Published rate | Interest on a $1,200 deposit held all year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.00% | $0.00 |
| 2024 | 0.00% | $0.00 |
| 2023 | 0.00% | $0.00 |
| 2010 to 2022 | 0.00% for each year | $0.00 |
| Before 2009 | Positive rates were published | Look up each year separately |
Confirm the figure on the Branch's rate page on the day you calculate. For a deposit held before 2009, look up each of those years separately.
A 0.00% rate is still a rate. Show it in the calculation the same way you would show 2.00%.
Example: a deposit held from July 2023 to May 2025
A tenant pays a $1,200 deposit on July 1, 2023 and moves out on May 31, 2025. The written forwarding address arrives on June 4, 2025, so the money is due by June 19, 2025.
At the published 0.00%, interest for six months of 2023, twelve months of 2024 and five months of 2025 totals $0.00. Write those three lines anyway, and file the walk-through paperwork beside them. Our landlord move-out inspection checklist covers what to photograph and note at that stage.
If the Branch had set 2.00% for 2024, a $1,200 deposit held the whole year would earn $24.00. Held for 184 days instead of 365, it would earn about $12.10.
Seven steps that produce the right number
- Record the amount and the date you received it, taken from the signed agreement.
- List every calendar year the money was held. July 2023 to May 2025 spans three.
- Pull the Branch's published rate for each of those years.
- Multiply the deposit by each year's rate by that year's fraction of time held.
- Add the yearly figures. Do not net off a damage claim first.
- Return the total within 15 days and keep proof of payment.
- Give the tenant a written calculation if they ask.
The deadline runs from the later of two dates: the day the tenant vacates, or the day the written forwarding address arrives. The condition inspection report must reach the tenant within the same 15 days.
If the same tenant stays on under a new term, no deposit is returned and the interest clock keeps running. Lease renewal vs new tenant sets out why that route usually costs a landlord less than a change of occupant.
How to check each step came out right
- The deposit figure matches the signed agreement and the receipt, to the cent.
- Every calendar year the money was held has its own line.
- Each line uses that year's own published rate, never one rate for the whole span.
- Interest is worked out on the original deposit, not a reduced balance.
- The due date is written downthe later of move-out or the forwarding address plus 15 days.
- Proof of payment and the written calculation sit in the same file.
[figure 4]
Pre-Return Deposit Interest Checklist
- Deposit amount matches agreement and receipt
- Each year's dates match RTB rate page
- Partial-year interest uses days held over days in year
- Total equals deposit plus all yearly interest
- Written calculation ready to show tenant
If you plan to keep part of the deposit, the legal overview of security deposits ties move-out condition reports to lawful deductions.
When a step goes wrong
The usual failure is an outdated rate or a skipped partial year. Recalculate from the deposit start date with each published rate, then send any shortfall at once and keep proof of payment.
If the tenant has already applied to the Branch, answer before the hearing with the corrected calculation. Ignoring the file invites an order for double the deposit.
