How Much is a Landlord Allowed to Charge for a. Security Deposit? A security deposit is pretty standard when it is time to rent a new apartment. Landlords and property managers will want to have that money on hand in case you decide to skip out and not pay the rent or if you end up destroying the apartment before you move out. The landlord will then be able to use the security deposit money to do some of the fixes (though remember that they can still come...