California security deposit law

No later than 21 calendar days after you move out, your landlord must send you an itemized statement showing the deposit, each amount deducted and why, and return whatever is left (Civ. Code § 1950.5(h)(1)).

Unless you agree otherwise, the refund comes as a check by first-class mail or by personal delivery. If you paid your deposit or rent electronically, the law now has the landlord return it electronically to an account you name in writing, unless you agree to another method. With more than one adult tenant and no written agreement, the check is made out to all of you.

Mail goes to the address you give the landlord. If you give none, it goes to the unit you left, so give your forwarding address in writing.

Along with the itemized statement, the landlord must include copies of the documents behind each repair or cleaning charge (§ 1950.5(h)(2)):

• Work by the landlord or their employee: a description of the work, the time spent and a reasonable hourly rate.
• Work by a contractor: a copy of the bill, invoice or receipt, with the contractor's name, address and phone number.
• Materials and supplies: a copy of the bill, invoice or receipt.
• Photos: since April 1, 2025, landlords must photograph the unit after you return it and before any repair or cleaning they'll charge for, and again after the work is done (§ 1950.5(g)(2)). For tenancies that began on or after July 1, 2025, they must also photograph it at move-in (§ 1950.5(g)(1)).

If the work can't reasonably be finished within 21 days, the landlord may deduct a good-faith estimate and send the invoices within 14 days after the work is done (§ 1950.5(h)(3)).

Receipts aren't automatically required when repairs and cleaning together come to $125 or less, or when you signed a valid waiver at the end of your tenancy (§ 1950.5(h)(4)).

But if you ask for the documentation within 14 calendar days after you receive the itemized statement, the landlord must send it within 14 days of your request, whatever the amount (§ 1950.5(h)(5)). Ask in writing and keep a copy.

A landlord who in bad faith fails to follow these rules isn't entitled to keep any of the deposit (§ 1950.5(h)(7)).

Once either of you gives notice to end the tenancy, the landlord must tell you in writing that you can ask for an initial inspection and be present for it (§ 1950.5(f)(1)). It happens no earlier than two weeks before you move out.

After it, the landlord gives you an itemized list of the repairs or cleaning they intend to deduct for, and you can fix those items before you leave. If nothing of yours blocked the view, the landlord generally can't later deduct for repairs or cleaning that weren't on that list, apart from damage that happens after the inspection (§ 1950.5(f)(4)–(6)).

For deposits taken on or after July 1, 2024, a landlord generally can't demand more than one month's rent as security, on top of the first month's rent (§ 1950.5(c)(1), (c)(6)).

A landlord who is a natural person, or an LLC whose members are all natural persons, and who owns no more than two rental properties with no more than four units in total, may take up to two months' rent, but not from a service member (§ 1950.5(c)(5)).

A lease can't call any part of the deposit "nonrefundable" (§ 1950.5(n)). A "nonrefundable cleaning fee" collected at move-in counts as security under California law.

When a landlord sells, they must either transfer your deposit to the new owner and notify you in writing, or return it to you with an accounting (§ 1950.5(i)). If they do neither, the new owner can be liable for your deposit together with the old one (§ 1950.5(k)).

A court that finds the landlord claimed or kept the deposit in bad faith may award statutory damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit, in addition to your actual damages (§ 1950.5(m)). In a deposit case, the landlord has the burden of proving the amounts they kept were reasonable.

Missing the 21-day deadline doesn't automatically cost a California landlord the whole deposit, but it's one of the facts a judge weighs. You can bring the case in small claims court as long as everything you claim, including the penalty, is within the small claims limit (§ 1950.5(o)).