Guides · California
Guides
California's security-deposit law, explained one situation at a time.
Start here
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Your landlord won't return your deposit. Here's what California law says happens next.
Nothing arrived, a partial refund, a statement without receipts — § 1950.5 assigns each situation a rule.
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Your landlord had 21 days. Here's what the law required by day 22.
California gives a landlord three weeks after you move out to return the deposit or itemize what they kept.
The deductions
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What your landlord can deduct from your deposit — and what they can't.
Four lawful uses, a boundary drawn twice, and the paperwork every deduction must carry.
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Ordinary wear and tear is not your landlord's to charge for.
Most deposit deductions come down to one question: was it damage, or was it the property getting older while you lived there?
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Since April 2025, a deduction without photographs is missing something the statute requires.
California's deposit-photo law made landlords document repair and cleaning charges with before-and-after pictures.
What comes next
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What a California deposit demand letter has to say.
The parts that matter come from the statute, the small claims form, and the courtroom that may read it later.
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Small claims court was built for exactly this.
The demand letter says you intend to file in small claims if the deposit isn't returned. Here is what that would actually involve — one form, a filing fee smaller than a tank of gas, and a hearing measured in minutes.
Before you move out
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The pre-move-out inspection your landlord has to offer.
A preview of the deductions, and a window to fix them, before the tenancy ends.
What's new
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What changed in California deposit law in 2026 — and what didn't.
The electronic refund, the notice you're owed, the roommate rule, the renumbering — and the 21 days that didn't move.
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