How to Get Your Security Deposit Back

Security Deposit Laws

California establishes certain rules that landlords must follow when it comes to returning and deducting any money from a tenant's security deposit. After the tenancy is terminated, a landlord has 21 days to return the tenant's security deposit in full or explain an accounting of any deductions.

Make a Written Request for your Security Deposit

If the deadline has passed, you will want to make a request for your deposit under any of these circumstances:

• Your landlord hasn't returned your deposit
• Your landlord hasn't given you an itemization of deductions
• Your landlord has taken deductions that you don't agree with

Your request should be written in the form of a "demand letter" and serves many purposes: It gives your landlord your forwarding address (even if you're already done it when you gave notice), it's a chance to build your case for a lawsuit, and it can help you get punitive damages from your landlord because they didn't comply with the security deposit law.

What Should be Included in the Demand Letter?

For your demand letter, you should include the following:

• The current date and your former unit number and address
• The circumstances of the dispute: note that you either you haven't received your full refund of your security deposit or that you dispute the deductions
• Your intention to sue in small claims court if you don't receive the refund (partial or full) within 2 weeks

Next Steps

If your landlord doesn't respond, then you can mediate (with the help of a third party) or begin a lawsuit immediately. Fortunately, the small claims lawsuit is fairly inexpensive. Here are the next steps you will take if you take your landlord to court:

• Complete the court forms
• Put together evidence
• Prepare your case and present your case in court

If your landlord files a lawsuit against you first for money claiming that you damaged the property beyond "wear and tear," you can take the steps to file a counterclaim for wrongfully withholding a security deposit.

Get Legal Help with Renting Issues

It's frustrating when you don't get your security deposit returned to you. However, before you sue your landlord, you might want to consider talking it over with an experienced tenants' rights attorney.