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California Civil Code 1950.5, in the order it applies. Enter the move-out date, the deposit the landlord held and what was kept. The page dates the 21-calendar-day deadline, shows which deductions the section allows, and prints the bad-faith ceiling. No sign-up, nothing to install.
Still owed after a move-out on October 30, 2026
Statement and balance due November 20, 2026 — 21 calendar days
Calendar days are counted forward from the vacate date: October 30, 2026 plus 21 days is November 20, 2026. The section counts calendar days, not court days, and the date is not extended for weekends or holidays. Nothing here is rounded.
Deductions above $125: under §1950.5(h)(2) the itemized statement must arrive with the bills, invoices or receipts for the work, and under (h)(2)(D) with the photographs taken under (g).
California Civil Code §1950.5 applies to "security for a rental agreement for residential property that is used as the dwelling of the tenant" — subdivision (a). Subdivision (b) then defines security as "any payment, fee, deposit, or charge" imposed at the beginning of the tenancy "to be used to reimburse the landlord for costs associated with processing a new tenant or that is imposed as an advance payment of rent". The label on the line item does not take money outside the definition: (b) reaches a payment, a fee, a deposit or a charge, and (n) separately forbids a lease from calling any security "nonrefundable".
Four uses are listed, and only these four are what a deduction has to point at:
(b)(1) the landlord's compensation for a tenant's default in the payment of rent; (b)(2) "the repair of damages to the premises, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear, caused by the tenant or by a guest or licensee of the tenant"; (b)(3) cleaning "necessary to return the unit to the same level of cleanliness it was in at the inception of the tenancy"; (b)(4) future defaults on an obligation to restore, replace or return personal property or appurtenances, again "exclusive of ordinary wear and tear", and only "if the security deposit is authorized to be applied thereto by the rental agreement".
Subdivision (c)(1): "a landlord shall not demand or receive security, however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of an amount equal to one month's rent, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy."
Three things move that line. (c)(2) does not prohibit "an advance payment of not less than six months' rent if the term of the lease is six months or longer". (c)(5)(A) allows up to two months where the landlord is "a natural person or a limited liability company in which all members are natural persons" and "owns no more than two residential rental properties that collectively include no more than four dwelling units offered for rent" — but (c)(5)(B) switches that off where the prospective tenant is a service member, and the same subparagraph bars refusing a service member the tenancy because of it. And (c)(6) says the subdivision "shall not apply to a security collected or demanded by the landlord before July 1, 2024", so a tenancy that started earlier is judged by the text in force when the money was taken.
Paragraph (c)(4), added for tenancies from April 1, 2025, covers a service member charged more than the advertised security because of credit history or housing history: the landlord must give a written statement of the higher amount and the reason "on or before the date the lease is signed", and return the excess after no more than six months of residency if the tenant is not in arrears.
(e)(1) is the gate: the landlord "may claim of the security only those amounts as are reasonably necessary for the purposes specified in subdivision (b)".
(e)(2)(A) then removes the three things tenants most often see on a statement: damage or defective conditions that preexisted the tenancy; "ordinary wear and tear or the effects thereof, whether the wear and tear preexisted the tenancy or occurred during the tenancy"; and "the cumulative effects of ordinary wear and tear occurring during any one or more tenancies".
(e)(2)(B) caps materials and labour at "a reasonable amount necessary to restore the premises back to the condition it was in at the inception of the tenancy, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear". (e)(2)(C) is narrower still: the landlord "shall not require a tenant to pay for, or assert a claim against the tenant or the security for, professional carpet cleaning or other professional cleaning services, unless reasonably necessary to return the premises to the condition it was in at the inception of tenancy, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear".
(f)(1) requires the landlord, "within a reasonable time after notification of either party's intention to terminate the tenancy", to notify the tenant in writing of "the tenant's option to request an initial inspection and of the tenant's right to be present at the inspection". The inspection happens "no earlier than two weeks before the termination or the end of lease date", on "at least 48 hours' prior written notice", and its stated purpose is "to allow the tenant an opportunity to remedy identified deficiencies ... in order to avoid deductions from the security". If the tenant does not ask for it, the landlord's duties under (f) are discharged.
(f)(2) turns the inspection into a list: the landlord gives "an itemized statement specifying repairs or cleanings that are proposed to be the basis of any deductions", and that statement "shall also include the texts of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b)" — the four permitted uses, printed in full, not summarised. (f)(4) gives the list teeth: where the inspection happened and the unit was not so full of the tenant's possessions that the work could not be seen, the landlord "shall not use the security for deductions for repairs or cleanings that are not identified in the itemized statement".
(g)(1): for tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025, the landlord must photograph the unit "immediately before, or at the inception of, the tenancy". (g)(2): beginning April 1, 2025, the landlord must photograph the unit again "within a reasonable time after the possession of the unit is returned", before any repair or cleaning that will be charged, and once more "within a reasonable time after such repairs or cleanings are completed". (h)(2)(D) makes those photographs part of what has to be sent with the statement whenever a deduction is taken, by mail, email, drive or a link.
(h)(1) is the clock: "No later than 21 calendar days after the tenant has vacated the premises ... the landlord shall furnish the tenant, a copy of an itemized statement indicating the basis for, and the amount of, any security received and the disposition of the security, and shall return any remaining portion of the security to the tenant." The same subdivision sets how: personal delivery, or a check payable to the tenant mailed first class, or — where rent or the deposit was paid electronically — an electronic return to an account the tenant designates in writing.
(h)(2) requires the documents at the same time as the statement: "copies of documents showing charges incurred and deducted by the landlord to repair or clean the premises" — a description plus time and hourly rate where the landlord or an employee did the work, otherwise the bill, invoice or receipt, and a bill or vendor document for materials and supplies.
(h)(3) handles the repair that cannot be finished inside three weeks: the landlord may deduct "a good faith estimate of the charges that will be incurred" and send that estimate with the statement, then must complete the requirements of (h)(1) and (h)(2) "within 14 calendar days of completing the repair or receiving the documentation".
(h)(4)(A) is the small-deduction exemption, and it is narrow: paragraphs (2) and (3) do not apply where "the deductions for repairs and cleaning together do not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125)". The statement and the refund are still owed inside the 21 days; what falls away is the paperwork behind a deduction of $125 or less.
(i) gives the landlord a choice on transferring the premises: transfer the security to the successor in interest and notify the tenant, or return it to the tenant. (j) requires the landlord, before a voluntary transfer, to hand the successor "a written statement" of the security remaining after lawful deductions, an itemization of those deductions, and the election made under (i). (k)(1) makes the successor "jointly and severally liable with the landlord for repayment of the security" where (i) was not followed. (l) puts the successor in the landlord's shoes: on receipt it "shall have all of the rights and obligations of a landlord holding the security".
(m): "The bad faith claim or retention by a landlord or the landlord's successors in interest of the security or any portion thereof in violation of this section ... may subject the landlord or the landlord's successors in interest to statutory damages of up to twice the amount of the security, in addition to actual damages." Two procedural details decide more cases than the arithmetic: the court "may award damages for bad faith whenever the facts warrant that award, regardless of whether the injured party has specifically requested relief", and "the landlord ... shall have the burden of proof as to the reasonableness of the amounts claimed or the authority pursuant to this section to demand additional security deposits".
(o) adds the venue that matters for small amounts: an action under the section "may be maintained in small claims court if the damages claimed, whether actual, statutory, or both, are within the jurisdictional amount". (p) is about proof: the existence and amount of a deposit may be shown by "any credible evidence", including a cancelled check, a receipt, a lease, prior consistent statements, or a statement under penalty of perjury.
| Subsection | What it requires | Clock |
|---|---|---|
| (c)(1) | Cap at one month's rent | at demand |
| (f)(1) | Written notice of the inspection option | after notice to terminate |
| (f)(1) | Initial inspection, on 48 hours' notice | no earlier than 2 weeks before the end |
| (g)(1) | Photographs at the start of the tenancy | tenancies from 2025-07-01 |
| (g)(2) | Photographs after possession returns | from 2025-04-01 |
| (h)(1) | Itemized statement and refund | 21 calendar days after vacating |
| (h)(3) | Completion after a good-faith estimate | 14 calendar days after the repair |
| (h)(4)(A) | Receipts and photographs excused | deductions of $125 or less |
| (m) | Statutory damages for bad faith | up to 2 × the security |
| Vacated | Arithmetic | Statement and refund due |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-30 | + 21 calendar days | 2026-11-20October has 31 days |
| 2026-12-15 | + 21 calendar days | 2027-01-05crosses the year end |
| 2027-01-31 | + 21 calendar days | 2027-02-2131 January plus 21 |
| 2027-02-20 | + 21 calendar days | 2027-03-13February has 28 days in 2027 |
It covers California only. The other 49 states, and any city ordinance, were not read for this page and are not described here. It does not tell you whether a particular charge is ordinary wear and tear or damage — (e)(2) gives the test, and the test needs the facts. It does not predict an outcome in court, and it is not legal advice. The letter itself, and the Florida and Connecticut deadlines, are on the security deposit demand letter page; the amount a deposit may be is on the security deposit calculator page; interest on a deposit is on the security deposit interest page.
The quotations above are the text of Cal. Civ. Code §1950.5 as read on 2026-10-28 from california.public.law, which marks the section as updated January 1, 2026. Subdivisions (h)(1) and (m) were compared word for word against a second copy of the section and matched. Statute text changes: read the current section before relying on a subdivision for a live dispute.
21 calendar days after the tenant vacates. §1950.5(h)(1) requires the itemized statement and any remaining balance "no later than 21 calendar days after the tenant has vacated the premises". Calendar days, so weekends and holidays do not push the date out.
Only where the cleaning is "necessary to return the unit to the same level of cleanliness it was in at the inception of the tenancy" — §1950.5(b)(3). For carpet, (e)(2)(C) adds a separate bar: professional carpet cleaning or other professional cleaning services cannot be charged "unless reasonably necessary to return the premises to the condition it was in at the inception of tenancy, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear".
Only in the small-landlord case. (c)(1) caps security at one month's rent. (c)(5)(A) allows two months where the landlord is a natural person, or an LLC whose members are all natural persons, and owns no more than two rental properties totalling four or fewer units. (c)(5)(B) turns that off where the prospective tenant is a service member.
Yes, at the same time — §1950.5(h)(2). The exception in (h)(4)(A) is only for deductions for repairs and cleaning that together "do not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125)"; the statement and the refund are still due inside the 21 days. A tenant can also waive the receipt and estimate requirements, but only by a waiver signed at or after the notice to terminate — (h)(4)(B).
The landlord either transfers the security to the successor in interest or returns it to the tenant — (i). Before a voluntary transfer the landlord must give the successor a written statement of the security remaining, an itemization of lawful deductions and the election made — (j). If that was not done, the successor is "jointly and severally liable with the landlord for repayment of the security" — (k)(1).
Up to twice the amount of the security, plus actual damages — §1950.5(m). The award is discretionary ("may subject"), the court may make it whether or not the tenant asked for it, and the landlord carries the burden of proving that the amounts claimed were reasonable.