25 Del. C. ch. 53 § 5310
“Assurance money” prohibited
Operative Text
(a) In every transaction wherein an application is made by a prospective tenant to lease a dwelling unit, the prospective landlord or owner of the dwelling unit shall not ask for, nor receive, any “assurance money” or other payment which is not an application fee, security deposit, surety bond fee or premium, pet deposit or similar deposit reserving the dwelling unit for the prospective tenant for a time certain. The prospective landlord shall not charge the prospective tenant, as a fee for any credit or other type of investigation, any more than the specific cost of such investigation. For purposes of this section, “assurance money” shall mean any payment to the prospective landlord by a prospective tenant, except an application fee, a payment in the way of a security deposit, surety bond fee or premium, pet deposit or similar deposit reserving the dwelling unit for the prospective tenant for a time certain or the reimbursing of the specific sums expended by the landlord in credit or other investigations. (b) Each landlord shall retain, for a period of 6 months, the records of each application made by any prospective tenant. Upon any complaint of a violation of this section, the Consumer Protection Unit of the Attorney General’s office shall investigate the same, shall interview tenants of the landlord and shall, under appropriate search warrant, have the right to investigate all records of the landlord pertaining to applications made within the preceding 6 months. If such investigation reveals good cause for the Attorney General’s office to believe there has been a violation of this section, the Attorney General’s office may issue such cease and desist orders in accordance with Chapter 25 of Title 29 as are required to remedy the violation.
Delaware's 25 Del. C. ch. 53 § 5310 prohibits landlords from collecting any payment from a prospective tenant that falls outside a narrow set of permitted charges: application fees, security deposits, surety bond fees or premiums, pet deposits, or similar deposits that hold a unit for a specific period. Any fee charged for a credit check or other investigation must be limited to the landlord's actual, documented cost of that investigation. Payments that do not fit these categories are classified as prohibited 'assurance money' under this provision.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under 25 Del. C. ch. 53 § 5310, compliant operators limit pre-lease charges to the categories explicitly permitted by the statute—application fees, security deposits, surety bond fees or premiums, pet deposits, and holding deposits tied to a defined time period. When running credit or background checks, operators document the exact third-party cost and pass through only that amount to applicants. Landlords are also required to retain all application records for at least six months, as those records may be subject to review by the Consumer Protection Unit of the Attorney General's office following a complaint.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 5310 of Title 25 of the Delaware Code gives prospective tenants the right to refuse any pre-lease payment that does not qualify as an application fee, security deposit, surety bond fee or premium, pet deposit, or a time-specific holding deposit. If a landlord charges more for a credit or background check than its actual cost, or demands any other unlabeled payment, that may constitute a violation of this provision. Prospective tenants who believe a landlord has collected prohibited 'assurance money' can file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Unit of the Delaware Attorney General's office, which has authority to investigate and issue cease and desist orders; tenant-rights organizations can also help explain available options.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 22, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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