California security deposit itemization
A California landlord must send the itemized statement within 21 days after move-out. Miss it and the tenant can sue for the penalty. The generator checks the deadline, the delivery method and the documentation as you fill it in.
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What California requires
- Deadline
- 21 calendar days after the tenant returns possession.
- Delivery
- Personal delivery or first-class mail to the address the tenant gave (the vacated unit if none); email only if landlord and tenant agreed to it. A deposit paid electronically is refunded electronically to an account the tenant names in writing, and adult co-tenants with no written agreement get one check payable to all of them.
- If it is late
- Bad-faith retention: up to twice the deposit on top of actual damages; a bad-faith failure to itemize forfeits any claim to the deposit.
- Documentation
- Copies of invoices or receipts for repairs and cleaning when those deductions together exceed $125; a good-faith estimate if the work is not finished within the 21 days.
- Photographs
- The statement goes out with photographs of the unit after move-out and again after repairs. Move-in photographs are required for tenancies that began on or after July 1, 2025.
- Statute
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 (as amended by AB 414, eff. Jan. 1, 2026)
What goes on the statement
The deposit and the date it was received, each deduction with a specific description and amount, the total withheld, and the refund or balance owed. California landlords also record how and when the statement was sent, because the deadline is measured to that date. Damage lines should say what was damaged and how, not just a room name: a tenant, and a judge, can tell a burn mark from carpet wear.
Interest, a separate deposit account, receipts, photographs and a sworn attestation are only required in some states. The generator shows the fields California needs and leaves out the ones it does not.
California deposit FAQ
Other states
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Create a California itemization