When Must a California Landlord Return Your Security Deposit?

The California rule in one table

What makes California different

California tightened its cap on July 1, 2024: AB 12 cut the maximum deposit to one month's rent for nearly every tenancy, furnished or not. The only exception is a narrow small-landlord carve-out — a natural person (or an LLC owned only by natural persons) with no more than two properties and four units total may still collect two months, and even then never more than one month from a service member.

The move-out process, step by step

1. Your clock starts after you vacate and return possession. Everything in California is counted from that date — note it, and keep proof of when you handed back possession (photos of the empty unit, a signed move-out form, or the key-return receipt).
2. Give a forwarding address in writing. Some states make this a formal trigger for the landlord's duty; everywhere, the landlord can only mail the statement and any refund to an address they have. Email counts in most leases — written and kept beats verbal and lost.
3. Count the deadline: 21 calendar days. Mark the calendar date. The landlord's obligation is to send by that date in most states — delivery or mailing by the deadline is what the statutes measure.
4. Read the statement against the statute. An itemized statement is always required. Receipts or invoices must back deductions over $125 for repairs and cleaning combined; for work the landlord did personally, the statement lists the work, the time spent, and the hourly rate.
5. If the deadline passes with nothing, the penalty rules switch on. Up to 2× the deposit in statutory damages on top of actual damages, if the court finds the deposit was claimed or kept in bad faith

If your landlord missed the deadline

File in California small claims court, or send a written demand first citing § 1950.5 — many landlords settle once the bad-faith damages are on the table.

Before you file anything, run your dates through the Security Deposit Deadline Calculator — enter your state and move-out date and it returns the exact calendar deadline and the penalty rule that applies. Then compare your state with the other seven in the Security Deposit Return Deadlines by State directory.

Renting in a different state next? The rules change completely at the border: see Texas and Florida for the two most different systems in this set, or your own state's page from the directory.

If the deadline has passed, send a written demand first, then file in small claims if it fails: How to Write a Security Deposit Demand Letter and How to File a Small Claims Case for a Withheld Deposit in California.

Source

Every deadline, cap, and penalty on this page comes from the statute itself: California Legislative Information — Civil Code § 1950.5. Facts verified 2026-10-23.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice — for a dispute about your specific situation, talk to a lawyer or your state labor or consumer agency.