How to write a security deposit demand letter

What the letter is doing

Three jobs, in one page. First, it puts your forwarding address in the landlord's hands in writing, which in several states is what starts the return deadline running at all. Second, it names the statute and the deadline, so the landlord cannot later say nobody told them what the law required. Third, it creates the exhibit: a dated letter, a certified mail receipt, and a delivery record. A small claims judge reading that stack sees a tenant who did everything right before filing.

What it is not is a negotiation. You are not asking whether the landlord agrees. You are stating what is owed, by when, and where to send it.

The six parts, in order

1. Who you are and where you lived. Your name, the full rental address including the unit, the lease dates, and the day you moved out and returned the keys.

2. The deposit. The amount, the date you paid it, and how (check number, bank transfer, receipt). If part came back, say how much and when.

3. What has happened since. One of three things: nothing at all, a partial refund with no itemized statement, or an itemized statement you dispute. Name which. If you dispute charges, list each one on its own line with the reason.

4. The statute and its deadline. Your state's security deposit law by section number, the number of days it allows, and the date that window closed. Your state page has the citation and the day count; the deadline calculator does the date math.

5. What you demand and by when. The amount, and a date. Ten to fourteen days from delivery is customary. If your state allows more than the deposit for a wrongful withholding, say that the statute provides for it; you do not need to argue the amount in the letter.

6. Where to send it. Your current mailing address, written out. This is the forwarding address in writing, and it belongs in every version of this letter.

A template you can fill in

Plain, short, and factual. Replace the bracketed parts. Nothing in it is a threat, because nothing in it needs to be.

[Your name]
[Your current mailing address]
[Date]

Sent by USPS Certified Mail

[Landlord or management company name]
[Their address from the lease]

Re: Return of security deposit for [rental address, unit]

I rented the above unit under a lease dated [lease start] and moved out on [move-out date], returning the keys that day. On [date paid] I paid a security deposit of $[amount] by [check no. / transfer / receipt no.].

As of today I have received [nothing / a partial refund of $X with no itemized statement / an itemized statement dated Y, which I dispute as set out below].

Under [state statute, section], a landlord must return the deposit or provide a written itemized statement of deductions within [N] days of [move-out / receipt of the forwarding address]. That period ended on [date].

[If disputing charges, one line each:
  - $[amount], [description]: [reason, e.g. normal wear and tear after a three-year tenancy; no move-out inspection was offered; charge is for a condition documented in the move-in photos].]

Please send $[amount] to the address above within [14] days of receiving this letter. If it is not received by then, I intend to pursue the remedies the statute provides, which may include filing in small claims court.

This letter serves as my written forwarding address for all purposes under the statute.

[Signature]
[Printed name]

What to leave out

Anger, history, and adjectives. A landlord who reads a page about how they treated you has learned nothing about what they owe. Leave out ultimatums beyond the one deadline, legal conclusions you cannot cite, and any demand the statute does not support: the letter's strength is that every sentence in it can be proven.

Leave out email, too, as the main channel. Send the letter by mail and, if you like, a courtesy copy by email afterward. The mailed one is the record.

Sending it: the detail that makes it count

USPS Certified Mail, and keep the receipt. Certified mail produces a tracking number and a delivery record tied to a date. That record is what turns "I told them" into evidence a court will accept, and it removes "I never received anything" as a defense. Add Return Receipt if you want a signature on file as well.

Keep a copy of the exact letter you mailed, the certified receipt, and the delivery confirmation together. Calendar the deadline you gave. If it passes with no payment, the next step is your state's small claims court, and this stack is the first thing you will hand the clerk.

Or have it prepared and mailed for you

The letter this site prepares follows this same structure, fills in your state's statute and deadline from the dataset, disputes the charges you list line by line, and goes out USPS Certified with the tracking watched for you. You read the whole letter before paying. Writing your own from the template above is a perfectly good choice; what the service adds is the statute done right, the printing and mailing, and the delivery record. Either way, the annotated sample shows what a finished one looks like.

Common questions

General legal information, not legal advice. Deadlines, procedures and remedies differ by state and court, and courts decide outcomes; nothing here predicts one in your situation. For advice about your specific facts, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

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