How to become a landlord in Delaware

Every written rental agreement must prominently disclose the names and usual business addresses of the owners or their resident agents. Give the tenant a free copy of the lease, the Attorney General's summary of the Landlord-Tenant Code at the start of the term, and the Right to Representation Coordinator's approved materials explaining tenants' legal representation. Once the rights and responsibilities guide law takes effect, you must also give the state's guide before the lease is signed (25 Del. C. § 5105(a), (b); 25 Del. C. § 5118; 25 Del. C. § 5606; 25 Del. C. § 5124(c); 85 Del. Laws, c. 277, §§ 5, 6).

• If you do not give the Code summary, the tenant may plead ignorance of the law as a defense (25 Del. C. § 5118).
• From the earlier of June 10, 2027 or the date the Division of Professional Regulation publishes notice in the Register of Regulations that the Real Estate Commission's guide is out, give the tenant the state rights and responsibilities guide before the lease is signed and get the tenant's acknowledgment. Give it again at each renewal for a year or more. The acknowledgment and guide may be paper or electronic (25 Del. C. § 5124(c); 85 Del. Laws, c. 277, §§ 5, 6).
• Give the representation materials when a written lease is signed or an oral agreement is made, at the first renewal or modification after November 22, 2023, with every rent demand, breach notice or good-cause termination notice that starts the right to representation, and when the tenant is told a housing subsidy is ending. The duty applies to every landlord, including one with three or fewer units (25 Del. C. § 5606; 25 Del. C. § 5602(a)(2), (b)(1)).
• Tell the tenant where the security deposit account is (25 Del. C. § 5514(b)).See Deposit account and interest on the Delaware page
• Before renting, disclose whether an adjacent unit is currently infested with or being treated for bed bugs (25 Del. C. § 5317(c)).
• For housing supplied to an employee, a written disclosure of the conditions for occupying and leaving, including the right to continued occupancy, is required at hire or move-in unless the lease covers it (25 Del. C. § 5123(b)).
• Rules must be brought to the tenant's attention when the tenant enters the agreement (25 Del. C. § 5511(a)(2)).
• No later than March 1, 2028 (or 12 months after the Delaware State Housing Authority's Register notice that chapter 54's funding and final regulations are in place, if sooner), every rental agreement for a unit built before 1978 must state whether it is certified lead safe or lead free, the certificate date and the inspector. It must also require the tenant to acknowledge receiving the lead education material you give before move-in (25 Del. C. § 5406; 25 Del. C. § 5407; 85 Del. Laws, c. 98, § 5(2)).

Every written rental agreement must prominently disclose the names and usual business addresses of all owners of the unit or property, or of their appointed resident agents, and of anyone else who counts as a landlord. For an oral agreement, give the tenant a written statement with this information on request (25 Del. C. § 5105(a), (b)).

• An owner or resident agent who does not deal with the tenant directly is still responsible for this disclosure, and cannot benefit from a failure of service caused by not complying (25 Del. C. § 5105(c)).
• Notices to you go to the landlord address in the lease and may be served there. The deposit refund and deposit notices go to the tenant at the lease address or at a forwarding address the tenant gave in writing (25 Del. C. § 5113(a); 25 Del. C. § 5514(h)).

Delaware's Landlord-Tenant Code has no flood disclosure rule for leases. Other Delaware law was not searched for one for this page (25 Del. C. chapter 51; 25 Del. C. chapter 53; 25 Del. C. chapter 55; 25 Del. C. chapter 57).

• The disclosures the Code does require are listed under required disclosures (25 Del. C. § 5105(a)).See Required disclosures on the Delaware page

Delaware fire law requires the owner of every rented home, including houses and apartments, to install smoke detectors and keep them working. On a lease of a month or more the tenant keeps an operable battery in them, and a violation is a $100 to $500 civil fine. The Landlord-Tenant Code bars a tenant from removing or tampering with a working smoke or carbon monoxide detector you installed, including removing working batteries (16 Del. C. § 6631; 16 Del. C. § 6635; 25 Del. C. § 5503(7), (8)).

• In an apartment, condominium or other rental lodging covered by the carbon monoxide law, if a unit has a fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage, you must install carbon monoxide detectors. On a lease of a month or more the tenant keeps the battery working, and a violation is a $100 to $500 civil fine (16 Del. C. § 6602C; 16 Del. C. § 6605C).
• Your general duty to keep the unit safe and to comply with state and local codes still applies (25 Del. C. § 5305(a)(1), (2)).See Repairs and habitability on the Delaware page
• Where detectors must be placed is set by the State Fire Prevention Regulations, which this page did not read (16 Del. C. § 6631(d)).

Delaware's Landlord-Tenant Code does not list locks you must provide. A tenant may install a new lock at the tenant's own cost if the tenant tells you in writing and gives you a key, the lock fits the existing system, and installing it does not damage the door (25 Del. C. § 5509(a)).

• When you regain possession through an eviction and will lease the unit again, change the locks at the time you get it back; otherwise you are liable to a new tenant harmed by a former tenant's entry with an old key (25 Del. C. § 5715(h)).
• If a lease makes returning keys a condition of refunding the deposit, it must set a clear procedure for surrendering them and cannot require surrender before the term ends (25 Del. C. § 5125(a)).

For a rental agreement of one year or more, a security deposit may not exceed one month's rent. For a month-to-month tenancy or one with no set term, the one-month limit applies once the tenancy has lasted a year, and you must then immediately credit the tenant any deposit above one month's rent (unless federally assisted housing regulations provide otherwise). The limits do not apply to furnished rental units (25 Del. C. § 5514(a)).

• Section 5514 sets no limit for a fixed-term lease shorter than a year (25 Del. C. § 5514(a)).
• A pet deposit is separate and may not exceed one month's rent, whatever the length of the lease. You may not require any pet deposit for a duly certified and trained support animal of a disabled resident (25 Del. C. § 5514(i)).
• A tenant may choose to buy a surety bond instead of paying all or part of the deposit, but you cannot require one and do not have to accept one. A bond plus any cash deposit may not exceed one month's rent, except as 5514(a)(3) allows (25 Del. C. § 5514A(b), (d)).
• If the lease says so, you may raise the deposit along with the rent. An increase of more than 10 percent of the monthly rent must be spread over the lease term, or over four months for a month-to-month tenancy (25 Del. C. § 5514(j)).
• You may not charge any nonrefundable fee as a condition of occupancy, except an optional service fee for actual services such as a pool fee (25 Del. C. § 5311).See Application and screening fees on the Delaware page

Keep each security deposit in an escrow account designated as a security deposits account at a federally insured bank with an office in Delaware that accepts deposits, do not use it in any business, and tell the tenant where the account is. The Landlord-Tenant Code does not require you to pay interest on the deposit (25 Del. C. § 5514(b)).

• If you fail to deposit the money in such an account, or fail to disclose its location within 20 days of the tenant's written request, the deposit is forfeited to the tenant, and failing to return it in full within 20 days of the forfeiture entitles the tenant to double the deposit (25 Del. C. § 5514(g)(2)).
• The tenant's claim to the deposit comes before any of your creditors, including a bankruptcy trustee, even if the money was mixed with other funds (25 Del. C. § 5514(b)).
• Chapters 51, 53, 55 and 57 were read in full; none requires interest on a security deposit (25 Del. C. chapter 51; 25 Del. C. chapter 53; 25 Del. C. chapter 55; 25 Del. C. chapter 57).

Delaware's Landlord-Tenant Code does not require a move-in condition checklist or joint inspection. The only inspection it requires before renting is a visual check of the unit for bed bugs. At move-out, deductions still need the itemized list of damages with estimated repair costs within 20 days (25 Del. C. chapter 51; 25 Del. C. chapter 53; 25 Del. C. chapter 55; 25 Del. C. chapter 57; 25 Del. C. § 5317(a)).

• Deductions may not cover normal wear and tear or anything painting and ordinary cleaning can correct, so a dated record of the unit's condition at move-in helps you show what changed (25 Del. C. § 5514(c)(1)).See Returning the deposit on the Delaware page

You may charge an application fee to check a tenant's credit worthiness of up to 10 percent of the monthly rent or $50, whichever is greater. Give a receipt for the full amount paid and keep complete records of application fees for at least two years (25 Del. C. § 5514(d)).

• Demanding more than the allowed fee entitles the applicant to double the fee charged (25 Del. C. § 5514(d)).
• Apart from an application fee, a security deposit, a surety bond fee, a pet deposit or a deposit that holds the unit for a set time, you may not ask for or take any other payment ("assurance money") from an applicant. A fee for a credit or other investigation may not exceed its actual cost (25 Del. C. § 5310(a)).
• Keep the records of every application for six months; the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit investigates complaints (25 Del. C. § 5310(b)).
• No nonrefundable fee may be charged as a condition of occupancy, other than an optional service fee for actual services (25 Del. C. § 5311).