Security deposit demand letter template (landlord missed the deadline or made illegal deductions)
A ready-to-send letter to your former landlord demanding the return of your security deposit, citing your state's deadline and itemization requirement, disputing improper deductions like normal wear and tear, and stating the statutory penalty you'll seek in small claims. Fill in the brackets, send by certified mail, wait 14 days, then file.
- Use this after the state deadline for returning the deposit has passed, or when the landlord kept part of it for normal wear and tear or without an itemized statement.
- Look up your state's statute and penalty in the security deposit guide and fill in the bracketed law references.
- Send by certified mail with return receipt to the landlord's address (from the lease) or the property manager, and by email. Keep a copy.
- Give 14 days; then file in small claims for the deposit plus the statutory penalty. Deposit cases are the most common small claims and tenants with photos win most of them.
Template
The full text, with every [bracketed] field to fill in, is on the next page. Copy it there and paste it into the company's form or email.
Open the full templateHow to fill it in
- Statute and deadline: from your state's law. The security deposit guide has the most common ones; your state attorney general's landlord-tenant page has the exact section.
- Penalty language: only claim what your state allows (some forfeit the landlord's right to deductions; some award 2x or 3x; some add attorney's fees). Delete what doesn't apply.
- Undisputed deductions: if some deduction is fair (unpaid utilities, a broken window you caused), subtract it. Judges reward reasonableness.
- Photos: print a contact sheet of 6–12 key photos with dates; bring the phone with originals to court.
- Where to send: the address for notices in the lease; if the property was sold, send to both the old and new owner.
- Then: 14 days, then small claims. Filing fee $30–$100; hearing in 1–3 months.
FAQ
The landlord never gave me a written lease
Deposit statutes apply anyway. Use your rent receipts, texts, and bank records to prove the deposit.
I don't have move-in photos
Use the move-in checklist if any, the landlord's own listing photos, and the fact that no damage was noted at move-in. The landlord must prove the damage was beyond wear and tear and that you caused it.
The landlord is claiming more than the deposit and threatens to sue me
Respond to the itemization in writing disputing each item; keep the letter calm. Landlords rarely sue for inflated "damages" when the tenant has photos.