# Renter's choice laws: which cities require a deposit alternative, and what they actually say Source: https://www.standby.io/resources/articles/renters-choice-laws-by-city Updated: 2026-10-12 > Cincinnati, Atlanta, Columbus and Philadelphia each passed a version of renter's choice. The rules differ more than the name suggests. What they require, and what operators in those cities should check. For operators · 6 min read · Published 2026-10-12 Renter's choice is the name given to a wave of local laws, starting in 2020, that let a tenant ask for something other than a full cash security deposit at move-in. The idea travelled fast and then slowed down. A handful of cities passed a version. The versions differ more than the shared name suggests, and only some of them involve a deposit alternative product at all. Here is what each one requires, as of October 2026. This is a summary, not legal advice, and city codes change, so check the current ordinance before relying on it. ## Cincinnati, Ohio (2020) Cincinnati passed the first renter's choice ordinance in the country. On a tenant's request, a landlord with more than 25 units must offer one of three options instead of a full upfront deposit: rental security insurance, a payment plan spreading the deposit over six months, or a reduced deposit of no more than half of one month's rent. The ordinance is Cincinnati Municipal Code section 871-9. The landlord picks which of the three to offer, and smaller landlords are exempt. ## Atlanta, Georgia (2020) Atlanta's council passed ordinance 20-O-1423 in October 2020. On a tenant's request, a covered landlord must allow the deposit to be paid in at least three equal monthly installments or accept rental security insurance in place of it. The provision sits at section 94-152 of the Atlanta Code of Ordinances. As in Cincinnati, the request has to come from the tenant. ## Columbus, Ohio (2021) Columbus took a different route after public comment. Its law requires landlords with five or more units to offer tenants a choice of paying the deposit in full at signing, over three monthly installments, or over six monthly installments, and to present the options in writing. There is no insurance or alternative-product option in the Columbus ordinance. Housing advocates in the city describe it as working quietly, with no litigation and no complaints from either side. ## Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2025) Philadelphia's law, passed in June 2025, applies to landlords with at least three units who charge more than one month's rent as a deposit. Those landlords must let the tenant pay a portion of the deposit in three equal installments. Again, there is no product involved: the deposit is still a cash deposit, paid over time. ## New York City (pilot) New York City runs a pilot for housing assisted by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Housing Development Corporation, under which owners can offer a security deposit alternative from a short list of providers the agencies pre-qualified. It is a programme for assisted housing rather than a city-wide rule, and it is worth reading HPD's own FAQ before assuming it applies to a building. ## Where it stalled Baltimore considered a renter's choice bill in 2021 and chose instead to fund one-time grants that cover the deposit for income-eligible tenants. Dozens of other cities and states looked at the idea in 2020 and 2021 and did not act. Housing advocates argued that the insurance option, which the first ordinances included, was a surety bond in practice: the tenant's payments never come back and the tenant still owes the full claim afterwards. The companies that lobbied for the laws moved on, and the campaign website came down in 2025. What has kept moving is the simpler reform: caps. About a dozen states now limit a deposit to one month's rent, and more cities require installment plans. Our [state-by-state pages](https://www.standby.io/resources/state-deposit-rules) track the caps, deadlines and interest rules for all 50 states and DC. ## What operators in these cities should check - **Whether the request has to come from the tenant.** In Cincinnati and Atlanta it does. Nothing stops a landlord offering the options to everyone, but the obligation is triggered by a request. - **Which option you are offering.** Each ordinance lets the landlord choose among the listed options. An installment plan satisfies every one of these laws. A reduced deposit satisfies Cincinnati's. Only Cincinnati and Atlanta mention an insurance product at all. - **Whether a guarantee counts.** A Standby certificate is a guarantee to the operator, not insurance, and the ordinances were written with insurance products in mind. If you intend to meet a renter's choice obligation with Standby, have counsel read the ordinance's definition against the certificate. Standby's cash path, which handles the deposit under state law, is the one that fits an installment or reduced-deposit option without that question. - **What you do for the buildings outside the thresholds.** The unit counts differ: more than 25 in Cincinnati, five or more in Columbus, three or more in Philadelphia. A portfolio with a mix of building sizes may be covered in some and not others. Whatever the local rule, the practical lesson from these cities is the same one the [critics of deposit alternatives](https://www.standby.io/resources/articles/what-the-critics-of-deposit-alternatives-get-right) make: residents should be able to choose cash. Standby is built so they always can, through the same link, with the operator covered either way.