Security deposits are used to give a landlord some protection for damage to the rented premises or some other failure of the tenant.  Security deposits are a very common requirement in most if not all place of residence rental.  A security deposit is not an application fee, so you should not confuse security deposit with an application fee or some other type of fee, such as advanced rent or pet deposit.  When the lease is over, you are able to get your entire security deposit back, unless there were damage costs which needed to be deducted from the security deposit.  This is not the same as “normal wear and tear”.  There are many simple and common questions including answers, which are asked by most if not all people in this Q&A section regarding security deposits.