Sample letter

A sample security deposit demand letter, annotated

This sample was generated by the same engine that prepares our customers' letters: a real statute, real deadline math, sample facts. It is drawn for Texas; your own state's version cites your state's statute and deadline, and you read all of it free before paying anything.

Stop asking. Start demanding.

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Jordan Avery 88 New Haven Road, Riverton, Texas September 11, 2026 Northgate Property Management 1200 Commerce Street, Suite 400, Riverton, Texas SENT VIA USPS CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED RE: Demand for return of security deposit (482 Maple Court Apt 2B, Riverton, Texas) Dear Northgate Property Management: I was the tenant at 482 Maple Court Apt 2B, Riverton, Texas until July 4, 2026, on which date I surrendered the premises. I paid a security deposit of $1,500.00. To date, only a portion of my deposit has been returned to me. I have received an itemized statement of claimed deductions, which I dispute. The grounds given for withholding (alleged damage beyond normal wear and tear; cleaning charges) are disputed. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103, § 92.109, a landlord in Texas must return a tenant’s security deposit, or provide a written itemized statement of lawful deductions, within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the premises and provides a forwarding address. This letter is notice of my forwarding address. The statutory period of 30 days therefore runs from your receipt of this letter, a date the Postal Service will record. For the record: The unit was left clean, keys were returned on the move-out date, and two written follow-ups have gone unanswered. My records of this tenancy include date-stamped photographs of the condition of the premises; the lease agreement; written correspondence with you or your agents. I am prepared to present these records in court if necessary. Please be aware that under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103, § 92.109, a landlord who wrongfully withholds a security deposit may be held liable for up to 3 times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus a statutory penalty of $100, plus attorney's fees and costs. On the balance still withheld, that exposure may substantially exceed the amount itself. This letter also serves as written notice of my forwarding address, stated above, for all purposes under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103, § 92.109. DISPUTED DEDUCTIONS I dispute each of the following charges from your itemized statement. Each is listed separately so that your response can address each one separately. 1. Full apartment cleaning, $450.00. Disputed because I left the unit clean, and I hold dated photographs taken on the day I surrendered it. 2. Carpet replacement, three rooms, $560.00. Disputed because this is ordinary wear and tear over my 2 years of residence, not damage caused by me. 3. Repainting the entire unit, $340.00. Disputed because this is not a cost properly charged to a tenant. Total disputed: $1,350.00. A charge you cannot substantiate is a charge that must be returned. If you maintain that any part of the deposit is properly withheld, I ask that your written response state, for each disputed charge listed above: (i) the specific damage claimed and why it is attributable to my tenancy rather than to ordinary wear and tear over my 2 years of residence; (ii) the age and expected useful life of any item repaired or replaced, and how the amount charged was calculated against that; and (iii) the date the itemized statement was sent to me and the method used to send it. A receipt on its own does not address any of these three points: it shows what was spent, not that the expense was properly charged to my deposit. I am asking for this in writing, now, for a specific reason. If this is not resolved between us and I file in the Justice Court (small claims), these are the questions I will ask the court to put to you, and I will be producing this letter, proof of the date you received it, and your answer to it. A charge that is easy to justify is easy to justify today. I am giving you the opportunity to do that before either of us spends time on a filing, and I would rather not file. What I will not do is treat a figure with nothing behind it as settled. Accordingly, I demand payment of $1,350.00, being the balance of my deposit that remains withheld, within thirty (30) days of your receipt of this letter, delivered to my address above. If I do not receive payment, I intend to pursue every remedy available to me under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103, § 92.109, including filing suit in the Justice Court (small claims), where I may seek the statutory damages described above, plus attorney's fees and costs where the statute allows. I would prefer to resolve this without court involvement, and prompt payment will end the matter. Sincerely, Jordan AverySigned electronically September 12, 2026 · example signature
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Why each part is there

Nothing in this letter is decoration. Each paragraph is doing a job.

The certified mail line

Signals the delivery is being documented. It is the record a small claims judge wants to see.

The statute citation

Naming the exact law tells the landlord you know which one governs and that its clock has run. In this example that is Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103, § 92.109; your letter cites your own state’s.

The penalty paragraph

What the statute lets a court add for wrongful withholding, stated plainly. In Texas: Bad faith retention can make the landlord liable for $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees. Bad faith is presumed if the landlord misses the 30-day deadline. Stating it is usually what moves a landlord to settle.

The forwarding address clause

Several statutes start (or restart) their clock when a written forwarding address arrives. The letter closes that loophole itself.

The line-by-line deduction dispute

Each charge on their itemized statement is answered separately, with the reason it is disputed attached to it. A landlord can ignore “I disagree with your deductions.” It is much harder to ignore three numbered charges that each need a separate answer.

The three questions at the end

Any response has to say what the damage was, how the amount was worked out against the age of what was replaced, and when the itemization was sent. A receipt answers none of the three, which is why a receipt usually arrives and the argument usually stops there.

The signature certificate

The mailed letter carries a final page recording how and when you signed and a SHA-256 fingerprint of its exact wording: your record of what you signed, and when. Proof that it was mailed and delivered comes separately, from the certified mail receipt, the tracking history and the delivery signature. See how that check works →

The evidence recital

Listing photos, the lease, and correspondence tells the landlord a court case is already assembled, without a threat ever being made.

Your state’s version

The structure above is the same everywhere. The statute, the deadline and the penalty are not. Each state page carries its own law and an excerpt of its own letter.

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Write my demand now

Prefer to write your own for free? Genuinely fine. The official statute text is linked on your state’s page, and this sample shows the structure. What the service adds is your facts merged correctly, printing, certified mailing, delivery tracking, and the deadline watch.