Security Deposit Not Returned in Nebraska: What Can I Do?

1. Your landlord must deliver or mail the balance of your deposit (the part that is left). The deadline is 14 days after the date your tenancy (your time renting) ends.

   Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

2. When your rental ends, your landlord may use your deposit and prepaid rent to pay rent you owe. Your landlord may also use it for money the landlord lost because you did not follow the rental agreement.

   Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

3. Your landlord must deliver or mail you the balance of your deposit. A written list must come with it. The list shows what part of the deposit was not returned.

   Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

4. Sometimes you give your landlord no mailing address or instructions. Then your landlord must mail the balance and the written list by first-class mail. It goes to your last-known mailing address.

   Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

5. Give your landlord a mailing address in writing before you move out, and keep a copy. Your landlord can then send your deposit and the written list to the right place.

   RenterLaw editorial Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

6. A deposit mailing may come back because it could not be delivered. The returned balance may also stay unpaid for one year. Either way, it is treated as abandoned property and reported and paid to the State Treasurer.

   Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

7. Your landlord must send your deposit balance and a written list of what was kept within 14 days after your rental ends. If your landlord does not, you may recover the property and money due to you, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees (lawyer fees). You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

   RenterLaw editorial Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

8. Your landlord must send your deposit balance and a written list of what was kept within 14 days after your rental ends. Say your landlord does not, and this is willful (on purpose) and not in good faith. Then you may recover one month's rent or 2 times the deposit, whichever is less. With $1,000 rent and an $800 deposit, 2 times the deposit is $1,600, so you may recover $1,000. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

   RenterLaw editorial Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

9. A government order may remove you from the home because it is not fit to live in. Say the cause is your landlord's negligence (carelessness) or neglect. Then you do not owe money for the landlord's losses directly related to your removal.

   Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(4)

   ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

10. The holder of the landlord's interest in the home when your tenancy (your time renting) ends is bound by the deposit rules. A new owner of the building must follow them.

    Nebraska Legislature Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(5)

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

11. Keep your move-out photos, your lease, and any letters or texts about your deposit. They help show what happened if you take your landlord to court.

    RenterLaw editorial

Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us.