Delaware Landlord Compliance Kit: Deposit, Notice and Eviction Checklists with an Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Landlords and property managers with rentals in Delaware, and tenants who want the same record, from move-in through move-out or a court case.

Not the right fit if

Your rental is outside Delaware: get that state's kit. Not legal advice, not a lawyer's review of a lease, notice or court case, and not a set of legal notice forms; city and county rules aren't covered.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Delaware data files, checked November 2026 against 6 official pages, among them Delaware Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Unit: A Summary of the Delaware Residential Landlord-Tenant Code (revised October 2024); Delaware Courts: Civil Court Proceedings, Justice of the Peace Court; Delaware Courts: How to File and Defend a Civil Claim in the Justice of the Peace Court; Delaware Courts: Justice of the Peace Court Glossary of Legal Terms; Delaware Courts: How to Start a Civil Action in the Justice of the Peace Court; Delaware Courts: Justice of the Peace Court FAQs.
• 8 items the official pages didn't state are marked "not confirmed" with the page to check, never guessed.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and works out Delaware notice and deposit dates for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 15 confirmed Delaware rules at a glance and the 8 items to confirm: interest on the deposit, rent increase notice, time to answer or appear, hearing after filing, writ to lockout, paying to stop the case, right to counsel (statewide), diversion or mediation (statewide), each with the official page to check.
• Delaware landlord rules checklist. Deposits, notice periods, the eviction case and the small claims limit, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date. What it confirms: deposit limit: For leases of one year or more, no more than one month's rent (furnished units have no limit); return deadline: Within 20 days after the lease ends: the full deposit, or an itemized list of damages with repair costs and any balance (5514(f)); itemized list of deductions: An itemized list of damages with the cost of repair; without it the full deposit is returned (5514(f)); where the deposit is held: In a security deposit account at a federally insured bank in Delaware, not used in running the business; the account's location is disclosed within 20 days of a written request or the deposit is forfeited (5514(b)); penalty the law states: Double the amount wrongfully withheld (5514(h)); ending month-to-month (landlord): 60 days' written notice; for a month-to-month lease the 60 days begin on the first day of the month after notice is given; ending month-to-month (tenant): 60 days' written notice; for a month-to-month lease the 60 days begin on the first day of the month after notice is given; unpaid rent notice: The notice must give at least 5 days to pay from the date it was given or sent.
• Move-in and move-out deposit checklist. A room-by-room condition checklist for both visits and the steps after move-out, with Delaware's return deadline (within 20 days).
• Notice calendar. When each notice must go out: the lead time for every notice the state's text confirms, with a 2027 month-by-month serve-by table worked out with our notice date calculator's rules.
• Eviction timeline sheet. The Delaware case in order from notice to lockout, with each confirmed stage, an example dated from a sample filing day where the rules give periods, and blanks for your own case dates.
• Delaware landlord workbook (Excel). A tenant notice log that dates each notice from the Delaware rules, a deposit tracker that works out the return date for each move-out, and a rent ledger with a running balance.