The security deposit, which is a monetary amount provided to the landlord at the lease's beginning, is not entirely at the liberty of the landlord. While the amount of security deposit can vary widely, landlords are limited as to how they price their security deposit depending on the price of the lease, regulated through standards known as security deposit law. According to security deposit law, the amount of the security deposit should be generally proportional to the amount of the tenant's monthly rent payments. The ceiling in place by security deposit law depends on your state, but is usually either one month, one and a half months, or two months of rent. As a result, landlords are required to offer security deposits in line with this ceiling ﾖ the general standard now used by landlords is to either take the equivalent of 1 months rent. State-specific security deposit law also defines how long a landlord can take to return the deposit after a lease is terminated.