Lease
Security Deposit Return or Demand
Produce the itemised deposit accounting a landlord must send, or the demand a tenant sends when it never arrives.
Available product levels
Customized Agreements
$29.99Guided questions and tailored clauses for agreements that need specific protections.
When to use this document
- A landlord returning a deposit with itemised deductions
- A tenant who has received nothing and needs to demand it
- Disputing deductions that are not supported by records
- Proposing a resolution before either side escalates
Information you will need
- Which side you are writing as
- Landlord, tenant, property, and lease date
- The deposit received and any additional credits
- Each deduction, itemised, with supporting records
- What was returned and what remains in dispute
- The tenancy end date and the date possession was returned
- The forwarding address and how this document is delivered
What you receive
- A Security Deposit Return or Demand document
- Itemised deduction schedule
- Completion and delivery instructions
- PDF and editable DOCX export
Special situations
- Deposit deadlines usually run from the end of the tenancy or the return of possession, and missing them can forfeit the right to deduct at all — sometimes with a penalty on top.
- Deductions asserted without receipts, invoices, or photographs are the ones that get reversed. Attach the records.
- Normal wear and tear is generally not deductible. The line between wear and damage is where most of these disputes actually sit.
- Several states require the deposit held in a particular way and require interest. A failure there can matter independently of whether the deductions were fair.
- Delivery evidence matters more here than almost anywhere else, because the statutory clock usually runs from receipt.
Jurisdiction
Deposit caps, holding requirements, interest, permitted deductions, the deadline to return with an itemised statement, and penalties for missing it are set by state and often city law and vary widely. This package states no figure or deadline.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a landlord have to return the deposit?
It depends where the property is, and this document states no period deliberately. Most states set a deadline measured in days from the end of the tenancy or the return of possession, and several impose a penalty for missing it.
What can actually be deducted?
Generally unpaid rent and damage beyond normal wear and tear, and in some places cleaning to the standard at move-in. Ordinary wear is not deductible, and that distinction is where most disputes live.
The landlord sent nothing. What now?
Send a written demand with your forwarding address, the deposit figure, and what you say is owed, and keep proof of delivery. In several states a landlord who fails to provide an itemised statement within the deadline loses the right to deduct anything.
Do I need receipts for deductions?
In practice yes. Deductions supported by invoices, receipts, and dated photographs survive challenge; deductions asserted as a round figure usually do not.
Is it worth pursuing?
Often, because many states provide penalties or multiple damages where a landlord has not complied. The dispute proposal in this package is there because settling is usually cheaper for both sides than filing.
Related documents and guides
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Last reviewed July 29, 2026.