Security deposit demand letters · Now in 47 states and DC
Your landlord kept your deposit.
The law is on your side.
Answer a few questions and get a formal demand letter citing your state's security deposit statute, the deadline your landlord missed, and the penalties they now face. Takes about three minutes.
No account needed. Takes about 3 minutes.
Most states give your landlord a deadline — often 14 to 45 days — and many let a tenant recover double or triple what was wrongfully kept, plus costs, where the landlord withheld it in bad faith. Your state page gives the exact rule and what triggers it.
✓ Every statute we cite is verified against the state legislature's published text — the verification date is shown on every law page.
RE: Demand for return of security deposit — 742 Evergreen Terrace
SENT VIA CERTIFIED MAIL
I am writing to formally demand the return of my security deposit of $1,400.00 for the rental property listed above…
Under Fla. Stat. § 83.49, a landlord must return a tenant's security deposit within 15 days. That deadline has passed. A landlord who fails to meet the statute's notice requirements forfeits the right to impose any claim against the deposit…
I therefore demand payment of $1,400.00 within 10 days of the date of this letter…
What your landlord receives — cited, dated, and delivered certified.
What does your state's law say?
Every state sets a deadline for returning your deposit — and most punish landlords who miss it. See yours:
Tell us what happened
Your deposit amount, move-out date, and what your landlord did or didn't send you.
Review your letter
We cite your state's statute, deadline, and penalty provisions — written like it came from someone who will follow through.
We mail it certified
For $25–$49, depending on the letter, we print and send it USPS Certified Mail with tracking, plus your escalation kit if they still won't pay.
Deposits are where most people start. They aren't all we do.
Renting goes wrong in more than one way, and the same thing works each time: a letter that cites the statute, names the deadline, and arrives with a delivery record. Every law below was read from the text the legislature publishes.
Landlord kept your deposit
Every state sets a deadline to return it, and most penalise a landlord who misses one. In 28 states we can also challenge specific deductions using that state's own rules on what may lawfully be deducted.
Landlord won't make a repair
In 31 states a repair notice sent by certified mail does something a text message can't: it starts a legal clock your landlord has to answer. Texas even treats one certified letter as doing the work of two ordinary ones.
Late fee that looks illegal
17 states and DC cap what a landlord may charge when rent is late, and most landlords don't know it. Check your state's limit — if yours crossed it, that's a demand letter too.
Landlord walking in unannounced
Notice periods run from 12 hours to 72, and in thirteen states there is no rule at all — so most sites answering this question are describing a rule that doesn't exist. We read all 51 and write letters in 29.
What makes this different from the free template you already found
The citation is real, and you can check it
Every deadline and penalty was read from the text your legislature publishes — not from another website that read it from another website. Each page links the statute so you can verify us in about thirty seconds.
We will tell you when you have no case
If your state's window has closed, or the deposit has already reverted to your landlord, the form stops and explains why instead of taking your money. That happens more often than you would guess, and it is the whole reason to trust the times it says go.
Certified mail, and the delivery record
We print it, sign it out, and send it USPS Certified Mail — then email you the tracking number and the delivery record. That record is what stops a landlord claiming they never got notice. Deposit and repair letters go with a return receipt on top, so you can pull your landlord's actual signature from USPS.
Todo esto también en español
Every state law page, every form, every refusal we give you, and now the Terms and Privacy Policy exist in Spanish. The English contract still governs, and the Spanish version says so at the top rather than burying it. The letter itself is deliberately English — it is written to be read by a landlord and a judge. The statute citations stay in English on purpose — a translated citation finds nothing when you search it, and means nothing when you hand it to a landlord or a judge.
The letter itself is free to generate and download, in either language. You only pay if you want us to do the posting. Ver este sitio en español →
Why a demand letter works
Every state sets a deadline for returning a security deposit — often 14 to 45 days — and most impose real penalties on landlords who blow it, frequently double or triple the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees. Landlords who ignore texts and emails tend to respond very differently to a certified letter that names the statute, the missed deadline, and what a court can award.
Common questions
- Can my landlord retaliate if I send this? Can they evict me?
- It is the right question, and it is the one most sites skip. Most states make it illegal for a landlord to evict you, raise your rent, or cut your services because you asserted a legal right — Texas, for one, bars it for six months after a repair notice and attaches a penalty of one month's rent plus $500. But the protections differ by state and a few have none, so we won't tell you you're safe when we don't know that. We have read and cited the anti-retaliation statute for the 31 states where we publish repair law, and those pages say plainly when a state offers nothing. Outside those 31 we have not verified it, and we would rather say so than guess — check your state's landlord-tenant statute or a local tenants' union before you decide.
- What if my landlord just ignores the letter?
- Plenty do at first, and the letter is still doing something: it puts a dated record in front of them. For a repair notice it also starts the statutory clock; for a deposit the clock started when you moved out, and the letter is what proves your landlord was told before it ran out. If there's no response after 30 days, reply to your confirmation email and we write and send a second, firmer letter at no charge. You also get an escalation plan with the first one — the small-claims path for your state, what to file, and what evidence to bring.
- What if I get the amount or the date wrong?
- The form asks for what you know and does the statutory arithmetic itself — the deadline, whether it has passed, and what your state's penalty provision adds. If your state's window has already closed, or the money has legally reverted to your landlord, the form stops and tells you instead of taking your money. You see the finished letter before you pay for anything.
- Is the letter really free?
- Yes. Fill out the form, we generate the letter citing your state's statute, and you download the PDF at no cost. The site and the form are in English and Spanish; the letter itself is written in English on purpose, because your landlord and, if it comes to it, the court will read it in English. You only pay if you want us to print it and send it USPS Certified Mail for you. If it can't be delivered, you're refunded automatically without asking.
- Do I need a lawyer? Are you lawyers?
- We're not lawyers, and this isn't legal advice — we prepare documents and mail them. For most deposit and late-fee disputes people handle it themselves; that's what small claims court is designed for. A repair or entry problem usually escalates somewhere else — repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or a housing inspector — and your escalation plan covers which of those your state actually allows. If your landlord has a lawyer, you're facing eviction, or there's a habitability problem affecting your health, talk to a lawyer or your local tenants' union. We'd rather say that than sell you a letter that isn't the right tool.
You don't have to work this out alone
See your state's deadline and penalty, read the finished letter before you decide anything, and have it printed and posted from the next production run — all in one sitting.
And if they ignore it, you're not finished. No response in 30 days and we write and send a second, firmer letter at no charge — and if your letter can't be delivered at all, you're refunded automatically without having to ask.
Start nowTenantRecourse is a document preparation and mailing service. We are not a law firm, we do not provide legal advice, and using this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Everything here is general information — state law varies and local ordinances may add requirements.