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Create a security deposit demand letter

Demand the return of a residential security deposit and any accounting the selected state requires. The form collects the events that actually start the state deadline—such as termination, vacating, surrender, a forwarding address, or a tenant demand—and includes a remedy paragraph only when its scope and conditions are supported.

Rules verified July 24, 2026. Examples of real variation include Alabama’s 60-day rule and doubled-deposit exposure, Colorado’s 30-day default and seven-day pre-suit notice, and Utah’s prescribed notice and service process. The selected state record, not these examples, controls the generated letter.

What the PDF includes

  • tenancy, deposit, return, and withholding facts;
  • the selected state’s governing citation and deadline branch;
  • required itemization, documentation, forwarding-address, or dispute content;
  • any claim-specific notice or service language;
  • qualified remedy language that preserves every culpability, cure, cap, and defense condition.

When must a landlord return a security deposit?

The deadline depends on the state and on the event that starts its clock. Some rules run from vacating; others require termination plus surrender, a written forwarding address, a tenant demand, or another event. The form collects each required trigger and does not say a deadline passed when the controlling record shows that a necessary event is missing.

Can the letter demand double or triple damages?

Only when the selected state provides that remedy and the entered facts support every condition. The amount base also varies: a remedy may use the original deposit, the amount wrongfully withheld, actual damages, or another measure. The letter states possible statutory exposure separately and does not automatically add penalties, fees, costs, or interest to the principal demand.

Do I need an itemized statement?

Many states require a written itemization when a landlord keeps part of a deposit, but the details differ. A rule may require exact reasons, receipts, photographs, a signed statement, an interim accounting, or item-specific objections by the tenant. The generated letter requests only the accounting and documentation supported by the selected state and the user’s answers.

Is certified mail required?

Usually it is a proof-building recommendation rather than a universal requirement. Some branches make delivery or receipt legally important, and a few prescribe methods. Utah, for example, requires its statutory notice to be served through one of the methods listed in the statute. The completion page gives the selected state’s exact instruction without calling certified mail service of process.

Is this an official state form?

No, unless the selected branch expressly requires a prescribed notice and the generator produces that notice. Most states do not mandate exact tenant-demand wording. Utah requires a notice substantially in statutory form, so that branch produces the prescribed notice rather than relabeling the generic letter as an official form.

Select your state