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

Who it is for

Landlords and property managers with rentals in Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island: 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 Rhode Island data files, checked November 2026 against 7 official pages, among them Rhode Island General Assembly: 34-18-19, Security deposits; Rhode Island General Assembly: R.I. Gen. Laws 34-18-37; Rhode Island General Assembly commission documents: Updated Rhode Island Landlord Tenant Handbook (draft, September 2024); Rhode Island Judiciary: District Court Landlord/Tenant Evictions FAQ; RI District Court: Small Claims; RI District Rules of Small Claims Procedure, plus FindLaw Codes and National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (a vetted secondary source, marked in the kit) where no official page could be read.
• 4 items the official pages didn't state are left out of the rules and put on a short look-up list with the page to check, never guessed.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and works out Rhode Island notice and deposit dates for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 19 confirmed Rhode Island rules at a glance and a short look-up list of 4 points to check: late fee limits, filing fee, writ to lockout, diversion or mediation (statewide), each with the official page.
• Rhode Island 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: No more than one month's periodic rent (34-18-19(a)); return deadline: Within 20 days after the latest of: the tenancy ends, possession is delivered, or the tenant gives a forwarding address (34-18-19(b)); itemized list of deductions: Deductions itemized in a written notice delivered to the tenant (34-18-19(b)); interest on the deposit: None stated in R.I; where the deposit is held: None stated in 34-18-19: no account type or place is named; penalty the law states: Twice the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney fees (34-18-19(c)); ending month-to-month (landlord): Written notice delivered at least 30 days before the date named in the notice (10 days for week-to-week); ending month-to-month (tenant): Written notice delivered at least 30 days before the date named in the notice (10 days for week-to-week); rent increase notice: Written notice at least 60 days before the increase for tenants 62 and under; 120 days for tenants over 62; unpaid rent notice: Once rent is more than 15 days in arrears, a 5-day demand letter; the tenant has 5 days from mailing to pay; entry notice: At least 2 days' advance notice at a reasonable time; none needed in an emergency or after the tenant has been away more than 7 days; court: Evictions are heard in the District Court; time to answer or appear: In a nonpayment case the tenant may file an answer at the hearing itself; missing the call of the case can lose it; hearing after filing: In a nonpayment case the hearing is 14 to 21 days after filing; judgment to writ: If no appeal is taken, the landlord may seek the writ of execution on the 6th day; who carries out the lockout: The writ lets a sheriff or constable regain possession.
• Move-in and move-out deposit checklist. A room-by-room condition checklist for both visits and the steps after move-out, with Rhode Island'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 Rhode Island 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.
• Rhode Island landlord workbook (Excel). A tenant notice log that dates each notice from the Rhode Island rules, a deposit tracker that works out the return date for each move-out, and a rent ledger with a running balance.