Real Estate Bookkeeping In Delaware
Wilmington concentrates the entity-versus-account confusion, since so many owners are Delaware-registered but banked elsewhere. Dover exercises the estimate standard, which rewards a pre-established costing schedule and punishes ad hoc figures produced at the deadline. Newark's university population produces sub-year and furnished lettings, so three different permitted maximums can exist across otherwise identical apartments.
Locate the city nearest to you and select your software below to learn more. Don’t see your city? Schedule a meeting with us to learn more about how REA can help your property management accounting needs.
Delaware at a glance
- Security deposit return
- 20 calendar days
- Governing statute
- 25 Del. C. 5514
- Cities we publish
- Wilmington · Dover · Newark
What Delaware Law Changes About Your Books
Deposit Handling and Trust Requirements
Trust and deposit rules are set state by state, and they change the accounting itself, not just the paperwork around it. A deadline is a ledger requirement: you cannot return a deposit inside a statutory window if the ledger cannot say what is owed.
Security deposits
Delaware 25-5514 requires an itemised list of damages with the ESTIMATED costs of repair for each, plus tender of the difference, within 20 days of termination or expiration. The itemisation is built on estimates rather than completed invoices by design, which is what makes a 20-day window workable and which puts the weight on how the estimate was produced.
Trust and segregation
The deposit must be placed in an escrow account at a federally insured banking institution with an office that ACCEPTS DEPOSITS WITHIN DELAWARE. That catches a lot of owners: Delaware is the entity formation capital of the country, and being a Delaware LLC is not the same as banking in Delaware. The requirement attaches to the account, not the entity. The cap also varies: one month's rent for most agreements of a year or longer, with higher amounts permitted for furnished rentals and sub-year agreements.
What we do about it
- Deposit liabilities tracked per tenant, so a 20 calendar days deadline is answerable from the ledger
- Trust accounts reconciled three ways, including every beneficiary balance
- Deduction documentation recorded against the correct ledger, not filed separately
- Aging deposits flagged before the statutory window closes
Summary of statutory requirements provided for orientation. It is not legal advice, and local ordinances can impose stricter rules than the state minimum.
Cities We Cover in Delaware
Market by Market
We work with property managers and investors across all of Delaware, all 57 cities and towns of it. The markets below are the ones we publish Delaware-specific detail for. If yours is not listed, the same team and the same 25 Del. C. 5514 rules still apply.
Wilmington
Delaware requires tenant deposits to sit in an escrow account at a bank with an office accepting deposits inside the state, which is a real constraint in a jurisdiction where a great many property-owning entities are formed but not resident.
Bookkeeping by platform
Dover
Delaware asks for estimated costs of repair within 20 days, which means the itemisation is built on estimates rather than completed invoices by design. That is a different documentary standard than most states set.
Bookkeeping by platform
Newark
Newark's university population produces a high proportion of leases running less than a full year, and Delaware treats those differently for deposit purposes. The lease term is therefore a compliance variable rather than a commercial one.
Bookkeeping by platform
Select Your Software
We Work Inside Your Platform, From Anywhere in Delaware
Services Available in This State
Every back-office function below is available on its own or as part of a full monthly close, anywhere in the state.
Experts In All Property Types
Residential, commercial and everything in between. The asset class changes what the books have to prove, and our teams are staffed accordingly.
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community AssociationsSee the page
- CommercialSee the page
Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us
Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators
Onboarding and responsiveness
Real Estate Accounting truly is a special company. They helped as if they were a part of our company, with the concern and caution as an employee would have, but even more. They quickly ascertained our needs and developed an effective team to help with our accounting needs. They were extremely responsive and always accurate. I would recommend their services to anyone who needs help with their property management accounting.
Smaller portfolio, still looked after
Adam the owner took a personal interest in my situation and was willing to work with me to see if his company was a good fit. I may be too small for them but I would highly recommend them to anyone considering a bookkeeper for their property management business.
Came from a bookkeeper who did not know real estate
Following a series of erroneous financials from my previous bookkeeper, who lacked expertise in real estate, it's been truly remarkable to receive not only accurate financials on a consistent basis but also proactive advice without prompting. The REA team is a game-changer in real estate accounting!
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Every month
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Property Accounting for Delaware Portfolios
Schedule a call and we will walk your Delaware deposit and trust setup, tell you whether it reconciles today, and scope the monthly work.