Meya, in the state that I am in now, there is no limit for the security deposit charged and in the state where I use to llive it was 2mths.
Just to be clear, I find that commercial apartment buildings typically don't charge first, last and security. In fact, some apartment complexes will offer you a bond if you qualify.
We owned a townhome, private home and we charge first, last and security. According to themarket and how desperate some landlords are, this will vary.
I researched alot on being a landlord and trust me if the shoe were on the other foot, you would want to protect your invesment. We were not adverse to working with people on breaking up one of the amounts in payments but this was based on their honesty, whether they had a co signer, t heir credit, the income, years on the job and finally whether I believe them or whether I had a bad feeling about them.