Security Deposit Return Letter
A security deposit return letter is the landlord's accounting after move-out, or the tenant's demand for that accounting. States set the deadline and what may be deducted. This page does not state your deadline, because a wrong number of days is worse than none. Look up the deadline and write the date you will meet. Deductions need a description a stranger could check against the move-out notes. Ordinary wear is not a deduction. Send the letter to the forwarding address. Keep proof of mailing.
For a landlord sending the accounting, or a tenant asking for it. When: after move-out, inside the deadline your state sets.
Naming a state changes the note on the page. It does not add that state's required clauses, fees, or font rules. Papero does not invent statutes.
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Security Deposit Return Letter
Parties
Money
| Item | Why | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Signature
Signature
Date
Why this form exists, and what it will not do
Security Deposit Return Letter is for a landlord sending the accounting, or a tenant asking for it. The moment to use it: after move-out, inside the deadline your state sets. It sits in the Housing and rentals group on Papero. Applications, inspections, receipts, and letters for tenants and small landlords.
Fill it in this browser. Papero does not create an account, does not upload the answers, and does not keep a copy after you close the tab. When the preview looks right, print it or download a PDF. The PDF is built on your device. A blank download leaves the lines empty so someone else can fill them by hand.
Work through the page in order. The Parties section asks for From, To, Property. The Money section asks for Move-out date, Deposit held, Deductions, Amount returned, Mailed to, Date mailed, Deadline you confirmed.
From. Landlord or tenant. To. The other party. Property. The unit. Move-out date. The day keys were returned. Deposit held. The amount you collected.
Deductions is a table with 6 rows and columns for Item, Why, Amount. Each item, with a real description. Amount returned. Deposit minus deductions. Write 0 if none is returned. Mailed to. The forwarding address. Date mailed. The day you send it. Deadline you confirmed. The date your state or city actually requires. Write "not confirmed" if you have not looked it up. Do not guess.
People send this back, or refuse it, for ordinary reasons. You invent a deadline. Deductions have no description. The letter goes to the old unit, which is empty. Read the finished page once as if you were the person receiving it. If a line would make you call back, fill that line.
Sign on the Signature and Date line. A typed name in the signature spot is weaker than ink on a printed page. Date it the day you sign, not the day you hope the other person signs.
What this page cannot do: This is not a lease, not a court filing, and not a city-mandated disclosure. Many cities add rent rules, just-cause eviction rules, and security-deposit deadlines on top of state law. Housing built before 1978 usually needs the federal lead-paint disclosure; this page does not replace that pamphlet or that signature. If a landlord hands you a portal or a paper packet, use theirs. Papero is not a law firm, not a government agency, and not the office that will accept or reject the paper.
State note for your state. Security Deposit Return Letter does not contain your state's required clauses, font size, language, or filing fee. Counties and cities inside your state sometimes add their own rule on top of the state. Before you rely on this for a lease, a school, a court, a bank, or an agency, compare it with the form that office publishes. If the office has no form, this template is a clear record of what you wrote and what you signed on this date.
After you print, use dark ink. Write "not applicable" on a line that does not apply, so a clerk does not treat a blank as a missing fact. Initial a correction beside the line. Do not cover a dollar amount with correction fluid. Each person who has a signature line signs their own name. One person cannot sign for another unless a statutory power of attorney, on the form that office accepts, already says so. Give the other party a copy the same day. On your copy, note the date and whether you handed it over, mailed it, or uploaded it to their portal. Attach copies of supporting papers, not your only original, unless the office demanded the original. Do not attach a Social Security card, a passport image, or a bank statement unless the recipient told you to, and then only in person or through their secure portal. Email is a common way those images are stolen. If the recipient is a government office, stop and use the form on that office's own site. Papero does not transmit this page, does not notarize it, and does not store it.
Keep a copy. Give the other party a copy. If you later change a fact, fill the form again and date the new copy. Do not scribble a second story into the margin of a page someone already signed. Write the date you handed it over, and how, on your own copy.
Before you rely on it
- You invent a deadline.
- Deductions have no description.
- The letter goes to the old unit, which is empty.
This is not a lease, not a court filing, and not a city-mandated disclosure. Many cities add rent rules, just-cause eviction rules, and security-deposit deadlines on top of state law. Housing built before 1978 usually needs the federal lead-paint disclosure; this page does not replace that pamphlet or that signature. If a landlord hands you a portal or a paper packet, use theirs.
How to fill and print it
- Fill the lines. Type into the Security Deposit Return Letter in this browser. Write "not applicable" on a line that does not apply. What you type stays in this tab and is not uploaded.
- Check the preview. The boxed preview is the page that prints. Read it once as the person who will receive the paper.
- Print or download. Use Print, or download a filled PDF or a blank PDF. The file is built on your device.
More Housing and rentals forms
Questions
What is a Security Deposit Return Letter used for?
A security deposit return letter is the landlord's accounting after move-out, or the tenant's demand for that accounting.
Who should use this Security Deposit Return Letter?
It is for a landlord sending the accounting, or a tenant asking for it. Use it when after move-out, inside the deadline your state sets.
Does this Security Deposit Return Letter need a notary?
No. This Security Deposit Return Letter has no notary block. Sign the Signature, Date line in ink on the printed page if you are handing it to someone.
Will a Security Deposit Return Letter from Papero be accepted?
You invent a deadline. This is not a lease, not a court filing, and not a city-mandated disclosure. Many cities add rent rules, just-cause eviction rules, and security-deposit deadlines on top of state law. Housing built before 1978 usually needs the federal lead-paint disclosure; this page does not replace that pamphlet or that signature. If a landlord hands you a portal or a paper packet, use theirs.
What gets a Security Deposit Return Letter sent back?
You invent a deadline. Deductions have no description. The letter goes to the old unit, which is empty.