What was the deposit?
Record the amount, payment date, tenancy start date, and any separate first month’s rent or fees.
California / Security deposits
California security deposit: the 21-day return deadline
California generally requires the landlord to deliver an itemized statement and the remaining security no later than 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates. That deadline sits at the end of a sequence, not a single move-out date: state law also addresses the amount that could be collected, a possible pre-move-out inspection, permitted deductions, and the photographs and supporting documents behind them.
Build the record
Four questions before a conclusion.
Does an exception affect the limit?
Owner type, number of properties and units, and servicemember status can affect which deposit-limit branch applies.
Was an initial inspection offered?
Preserve the inspection notice, request, itemized statement, photographs, and proof of work completed before move-out.
What arrived after possession was returned?
Keep the itemized statement, refund, receipts, estimates, photographs, and the envelope or electronic delivery record.
What to preserve
Documents are easier to evaluate when the sequence is visible.
Go deeper
Separate the collection question from the move-out process.
California security-deposit limit
Test the collection date, rent, landlord structure and portfolio, and servicemember branch behind the statewide cap.
Open the deposit-limit guide →Initial inspection before move-out
Preserve the offer, request, notice, inspection, proposed deductions, and opportunity to remedy conditions.
Open the inspection guide →21-day itemization and return
Audit the remaining balance, itemized statement, photographs, charge documents, estimates, and later follow-up records.
Open the final-accounting guide →Next step
Work out your deadline and build your deposit file.
Confirm the date you vacated and the workspace counts the 21st day, applying the Code of Civil Procedure sections 12 and 12a extension when that day lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or judicial holiday, and showing the unadjusted date beside the adjusted one. Add the collection date and rent and it also reviews which deposit-limit branch applies, then indexes your evidence and drafts a written request for the itemized statement.
The workspace runs in your browser on this device. Your entries are kept in tab memory and lost on refresh or close. They are never sent to a server, and only facts you check are allowed to produce a date.
Open the California deposit workspacePrimary authorities
Read the official California sources.
Security for a rental agreement
Primary state source for deposit limits, inspections, deductions, documentation, photographs, and return of the balance.
California Courts: Guide to security deposits
Official Judicial Branch guide explaining common deposit questions and options after a dispute.
California Department of Real Estate tenant guide
Official 2026 statewide guide to landlord-tenant responsibilities; secondary explanation rather than binding authority.
Coverage: California statewide residential rental information. This release does not determine a small-landlord exception, servicemember protection, local overlay, subsidized-housing rule, or the outcome of a particular dispute.