Real Estate Bookkeeping In Rhode Island
Providence's triple-decker stock makes the separately enumerated trash disposal category worth using properly, and with a one-month cap a mislabelled deduction cannot be recovered elsewhere. Warwick shows the forwarding-address trigger at its most awkward, since an address given for mail redirection is not necessarily one given for receiving the deposit. Newport's short intense season opens many overlapping 20-day windows on different dates.
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.
Rhode Island at a glance
- Security deposit return
- 20 days from the latest of three conditions
- Governing statute
- R.I. Gen. Laws 34-18-19
- Cities we publish
- Providence · Warwick · Newport
What Rhode Island 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
Rhode Island 34-18-19 requires the notice and the deposit due within 20 days after the LATER of termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, or the tenant providing a forwarding address FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECEIVING THE DEPOSIT. Three conditions, the last of them the tenant's act, so the clock can start well after the unit has been re-let. The cap is one month's periodic rent.
Trust and segregation
Rhode Island ENUMERATES the permitted deductions: unpaid accrued rent, reasonable cleaning expenses, reasonable TRASH DISPOSAL expenses, and physical damage other than ordinary wear and tear, all itemised in a written notice. Trash disposal as its own named head of claim is unusual and genuinely useful in triple-decker stock where furniture is routinely abandoned, but portfolios commonly bury it inside cleaning and weaken both.
What we do about it
- Deposit liabilities tracked per tenant, so a 20 days from the latest of three conditions 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 Rhode Island
Market by Market
We work with property managers and investors across all of Rhode Island, all 70 cities and towns of it. The markets below are the ones we publish Rhode Island-specific detail for. If yours is not listed, the same team and the same R.I. Gen. Laws 34-18-19 rules still apply.
Providence
Rhode Island combines a very short window with a trigger that has three conditions, and it enumerates what may be deducted more precisely than most states. Providence portfolios hit all three features on every move-out.
Bookkeeping by platform
Warwick
Rhode Island's clock cannot start until the tenant supplies a forwarding address for the purpose of receiving the deposit, which makes a piece of tenant correspondence into an accounting trigger.
Bookkeeping by platform
Newport
Newport's rental year is dominated by a short, intense season, and Rhode Island's 20-day deposit window means the administrative tail of that season arrives while the operation is still running at full speed.
Bookkeeping by platform
Select Your Software
We Work Inside Your Platform, From Anywhere in Rhode Island
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
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!
Real-estate-only specialists
As REA exclusively specializes in Real Estate, I rest easy knowing my financials are precise every month while saving money at the same time, an invaluable benefit.
230+
Property Accountants
30M+
Commercial Sq. Ft.
Up to 50%
Saved vs In-House
Every month
On-Time Close
Property Accounting for Rhode Island Portfolios
Schedule a call and we will walk your Rhode Island deposit and trust setup, tell you whether it reconciles today, and scope the monthly work.