Security deposit return and accounting
Use this letter to identify the deposit, supported charges, interest included and remaining refund. Select full refund, partial refund, full withholding, reported abandonment, SCRA full refund or co-tenant allocation to match the facts. It is not an eviction notice, release of all claims, title document or substitute for a required statutory process.
A refund calculation cannot establish that a charge is lawful. Do not include ordinary wear, unrelated costs or a penalty merely because a lease lists it. Check the applicable rules and preserve the evidence that supports each amount.
Calculate one refund from the itemized amounts
Enter the deposit actually received and the interest still owed. List each supported deduction separately, including its factual basis, amount and supporting reference. Unpaid rent and utilities, when recoverable, are separate items. The builder totals those amounts and subtracts them from the deposit plus interest.
A partial refund requires positive deductions and a positive balance. Full withholding requires supported charges at least equal to the available deposit and interest. A charge exceeding the deposit does not turn this letter into an additional debt demand. Co-tenant shares divide the single refund total.
Deadlines and state-specific procedures
The deadline depends on the jurisdiction, tenancy and event that starts the clock. A move-out date, lease end, surrender, demand or receipt of a forwarding address may have different legal effects. Check the current statute and applicable local rules; do not assume a universal 30-day period. A letter cannot extend a deadline or establish that service and payment occurred.
Check local ordinances, regulated or subsidized housing, commercial-tenancy exclusions and any special circumstances. Retain the required records from the start of the tenancy, not only at move-out. Confirm required inspection opportunities, receipts, estimates, photographs, interest and follow-up statements.
California DRE move-out guide
California generally requires the accounting and remaining refund within 21 days after move-out. Check the initial-inspection process, allowable deductions, receipt and estimate follow-up rules, and required before/after photographs. Move-in photographs apply to tenancies starting July 1, 2025 or later. Effective January 1, 2026, check electronic-refund notice and method rules when rent or deposits were paid electronically, plus joint-payee or written alternative arrangements for multiple adult tenants.
Connecticut Department of Banking deposit guide
Connecticut generally requires the deposit plus interest, or an itemized damages notice with the remaining balance and interest, within 21 days after the tenancy ends. If the tenant has not supplied a written forwarding address, the address-based deadline is 15 days after its receipt. Verify the statutory timing for the actual dates; the old blanket 30-day rule is incorrect. Interest has separate annual-payment requirements.
Florida Statutes §83.49
Florida separates a no-claim return from a notice of intent to claim: the ordinary deadlines are 15 days to return without a claim and 30 days for the statutory claim notice. Use certified mail to the last known mailing address or email only when §83.505 authorizes it. The tenant has 15 days after receipt to object; absent an objection, the balance must be remitted within 30 days after the claim notice. Check §83.49 exceptions, including certain early-vacating situations, before applying these rules.
Illinois Security Deposit Return Act
Under the Illinois Security Deposit Return Act, property-damage itemization and required receipts generally must be furnished within 30 days after vacating or the end of the right to possession, whichever is later. The statute addresses estimated costs and later receipts. If the required statement and receipts are not furnished, the full deposit must be returned within 45 days after vacating. The older five-unit limitation is no longer the general coverage rule. Check local ordinances and separate interest requirements.
Massachusetts deposit and rent guidance
Massachusetts generally requires the balance and applicable interest within 30 days after the tenancy ends. Damage deductions require a specific itemized statement signed under the pains and penalties of perjury and supporting written evidence. Bank-account, receipt, condition-statement and interest duties also matter; a new return letter does not cure earlier violations.
Michigan Courts landlord-tenant benchbook
Michigan requires a damages notice within 30 days after occupancy ends, with the itemized amounts and bases. The prescribed seven-day mail-response warning must be 12-point bold and at least four points larger than the body. A remaining balance ordinarily accompanies the notice by check or money order; from September 21, 2026, the permitted electronic-payment option allows payment within 10 days after mailing. Disputed damage claims have a separate 45-day court-action rule with statutory exceptions. Check forwarding-address and prior-notice duties too.
New York General Obligations Law §7-108
For residential tenancies covered by New York General Obligations Law §7-108(1-a), the itemized statement and remaining deposit are due within 14 days after the tenant vacates. That provision does not make the deadline depend on receiving a forwarding address. Check the statute’s coverage, inspection rights and rules for regulated housing separately.
Prepare, sign and deliver the actual accounting
Enter the landlord’s correspondence address, tenant’s forwarding or last known address, rental address and actual relevant dates. Describe the documents supplied rather than merely saying receipts are available on request. Provide required attachments and permitted estimate follow-ups through the appropriate channel.
Choose the actual payment status. A planned check or transfer has not already been delivered. For Florida deductions, choose the initial statutory claim notice or final accounting only after resolving the required process. Massachusetts damage itemization includes a sworn statement for the landlord to review and sign. Michigan damages notices include the prescribed mail-response warning and formatting.
Keep the signed letter, attachments, service evidence and payment record. Do not insert a private objection deadline where the law supplies a different process. Seek timely advice for contested withholding, missed deadlines or facts that the form does not address.
Review the sample and prepare your accounting
The sample is an uncompleted illustration. The final document depends on your scenario, charges, state and payment facts. The SCRA full-refund option does not decide whether a particular termination qualifies under federal law. Reported abandonment does not authorize entry or disposal of belongings.
Common questions
Official sources
- California DRE move-out guide
- Connecticut Department of Banking deposit guide
- Florida Statutes §83.49
- Illinois Security Deposit Return Act
- Massachusetts deposit and rent guidance
- Michigan Courts landlord-tenant benchbook
- New York General Obligations Law §7-108
- Ventura 2026 legal update: California refund method and payees