Guides
Coworking deposits: state residential laws that do not apply
This guide lists residential security deposit statutes in 11 states, explains why they do not govern coworking memberships, plus deposit clause and record guidance.
What to take away
- Every cap and deadline below comes from a residential landlord-tenant statute. None names a coworking membership.
- California Civil Code 1950.5 caps residential deposits at two months' rent unfurnished, three furnished, with a 21-day itemized return. It covers dwellings, not desks.
- Florida Statutes 83.49 adds a step operators forgetwritten notice of intention to keep part of a deposit, on top of the 15-day and 30-day clocks.
- Texas Property Code 92.103 through 92.109 covers residential refunds, accounting and bad-faith liability. A coworking license sits outside that chapter.
- Three controls decide a small claims casethe deposit clause, the signed receipt, and the written return deadline.
Where deposit statutes stop: residential tenancy, not a license
No state statute reviewed here extends a residential deposit cap or deadline to a coworking membership. Those laws were written for tenants, and the coworking membership models most operators sell are licenses.
That distinction matters because the cap is the first thing operators search for. California's numbers are easy to find and easy to misread as a ceiling on a desk.
The contract therefore governs. If your agreement promises a refund within 30 days of exit, that promise is the deadline a judge applies. Silence invites an argument about an implied term.
Rules diverge enough that Cornell's security deposit overview is worth reading before you assume your state cap binds a commercial license. Check your state's commercial tenancy chapter as well.
Before drafting, read the membership agreement terms that already control deposits, damage and unpaid fees. A deposit clause that contradicts the rest of the agreement is the one a member's lawyer will quote.
California deposit cap
- 2 monthsunfurnished residential cap
- 3 monthsfurnished residential cap
- 21 daysitemized return if promised
The state rules operators quote, and what each one covers
Each row pairs a real residential statute with the mistake that follows when it is pasted into a membership agreement.
State rules operators quote
| State | Residential rule and citation | Where operators slip |
|---|---|---|
| California | Civ. Code 1950.5: two months' rent unfurnished, three furnished, 21-day return | The cap covers dwellings, so a higher desk deposit stays legal |
| Texas | Prop. Code 92.103 to 92.109: refund, 30-day accounting, bad-faith liability | Borrowing the 30-day clock creates a contractual duty |
| New York | Gen. Oblig. Law 7-108: one month cap, 14-day return | Operators still call New York capless, which was true before 2019 |
| Florida | Stat. 83.49: 15 days, or 30 with deductions, plus notice of intent to claim | The missing notice is a separate failure from a late return |
| Washington | RCW 59.18.260 receipt, RCW 59.18.280 30-day itemized return | No receipt means no proof of what was paid |
| Illinois | Return Act: 30 days itemized, 45 when deductions are estimated | The 45-day window is blown when repairs drag |
| Massachusetts | M.G.L. c. 186 s. 15B: one month cap, separate escrow account | Commingling loses the escrow defense |
| Oregon | ORS 90.300: written accounting within 31 days of move-out | A license exit is handled like a residential move-out |
| Colorado | C.R.S. 38-12-103: one month cap, 30-day return | The cap is copied and the receipt rule is not |
| Nevada | NRS 118A.242: 30-day itemized return | Operators write no deadline at all |
| Georgia | O.C.G.A. 44-7-33: deposit held in escrow, 30-day return | Skipping escrow invites an unpriced claim |
Texas shows the pattern. The statute governs residential tenancies, yet operators borrow the 30-day itemization because it sounds fair. The promise outlives the process behind it.
Texas 30-day itemization
- Move-outclock starts
- 30 dayswritten itemized deductions due
- Aftercopied clause becomes contract duty
Operators should read Austin lease terms before promising members a deposit process the building's own lease cannot support.
New York capped residential deposits at one month's rent and cut the return window to 14 days in 2019. A coworking space can still ask for two. Whether that survives a challenge depends on how the agreement describes possession.
Example: a deposit clause built for a license
Take a private-office member whose agreement sets the deposit at one month's fee. Four steps keep that money outside residential deposit law.
- Name the relationship. State that the membership is a license to use a defined space for a defined term, with no tenancy or exclusive possession.
- Define the deposit's job. Cover unpaid fees, damage beyond normal wear, and lost keys. Nothing else.
- Fix the clock. Set a return deadline in days from the last day of paid access, and require an itemized deduction list with dates and photos.
- Separate the money. Hold deposits in a ledger account apart from operating cash, and never apply one to fees without written notice.
Match the clause to the cancellation policy sample items on early exits, so the deposit rule and the exit fee never contradict each other.
The deposit file that holds up
Commercial deposits are often documented badly at move-in, so disputes turn on memory. Four records carry the case.
- Receiptamount, date, space name, member name, and the return deadline in days.
- Clausewhat the deposit covers and what it does not.
- Ledgerthe deposit held apart from revenue, with any application to fees dated.
- Exit recorditemized deductions with dates and the pricing method for each line.
A license that reads like a lease gets treated like a lease when a deposit is disputed.
Penalties when a deposit is mishandled
California allows twice the deposit plus attorney fees when a residential landlord keeps a deposit in bad faith. A coworking operator meets that remedy only if a court finds a tenancy.
Texas has a comparable damages provision for residential deposits. Outside those statutes, the claim is breach of contract, and the remedy is the deposit plus costs.
Hold the deposit as a liability until it is applied. That is also how tax treatment of membership revenue separates deposits from earned fees, and booking one as income weakens the refund argument.
