Landlord not returning your security deposit?
SueEasy helps you review your landlord's deductions, spot violations of California's security deposit law, and prepare your small claims case, with fees starting at $199.
File a Complaint
The cost of waiting to claim your security deposit
Evidence gets harder to recover
Move-out photos and receipts get lost. Waiting thins your evidence packet.
Your money stays out of your hands
Every month you wait is a month your landlord holds money that may be legally yours.
You're on a real clock
A deposit claim on a written lease has a statutory window. Wait too long and it closes.
Bad-faith damages get harder to argue
The up-to-2x penalty hinges on bad faith. A prompt paper trail supports that, a delay undercuts it.
What it costs to recover your security deposit
Start free, see what you're owed before you pay
- Full guided intake
- Deposit and statutory damages estimate
- Review of your landlord's itemized statement
- Draft demand letter preview
Priced by how much you're claiming
- Claim under $2,500: $199
- Claim $2,500-$7,500: $699
- Claim over $7,500: $1,299
- Complete demand letter and SC-100, ready to file
Extra confidence, priced by claim size
- Everything in File it yourself
- Licensed CA attorney review
- Revisions before filing
- Attorneys can't appear in small claims court, so this is advisory only
Court filing fees are separate, paid to the clerk, and can vary from roughly $30 to $75 depending on the size of the claim. This covers preparing your demand letter and claim. It does not include legal representation unless you add attorney review, and we do not appear in court on your behalf because California small claims courts do not allow attorneys to represent parties at the hearing.
When you might not need us
Under about $1,500? Starting a small claims case takes one free form, the SC-100, plus a free county advisor whose job is helping you fill it out. And if your landlord already sent a detailed list with receipts and photos, and you just disagree about, say, $200 of cleaning, that's a dispute about facts. Harder to win, and no service changes that.
The value is in the analysis, not the forms
The SC-100 form is free everywhere. What we actually charge for is figuring out whether the 21-day clock was missed, whether the AB 2801 photos are missing, and which deduction category your landlord's charges don't actually fit into. Then we build your demand letter around whichever argument is strongest.
California's 21-day security deposit rules
21 calendar days
Not business days. He had to return the full deposit or send an itemized statement, with both happening inside the window.
When the clock starts
From when he regains possession, meaning your keys go back, not your lease end date.
Weekends count
Calendar-day counting, the opposite of how eviction deadlines work, a common point of confusion.
Kept the keys?
Moved out early but kept the keys? The clock starts only once the keys actually go back.
Late itemization or check
Statement on day 20, balance on day 35, that's not compliance. Both are required within 21 days.
No forwarding address?
He still has to send the itemization to your last known address, even the unit itself.
Four categories only, a closed list under Civil Code 1950.5(b):
Unpaid rent
The only financial deduction outside of damage or cleaning.
Damage repair
Beyond ordinary wear and tear, caused by you or your guests.
Cleaning
Back to move-in condition, not "spotless," the same as you received it.
Replacing property
Furniture or appliances your lease covered, if the loss wasn't ordinary wear.
Usually wear and tear
Faded paint after years, flattened carpet paths, small nail holes, worn hinges.
Usually damage
Pet stains, burns, gouges, drywall anchors, a door off its frame, cracked tile.
Painting
Only chargeable beyond ordinary wear. Routine repaint between tenants is a cost of doing business.
Carpet cleaning
Only where reasonably necessary. A blanket "professional cleaning" clause isn't enforceable as a deduction.
Proration by age
Paint and carpet have a useful life, commonly five to ten years, older material should be prorated.
The AB 2801 photo rule for security deposits
AB 2801 is a California Assembly Bill, state law that amended the security deposit statute to add these photo requirements.
The photo rule
- Since April 1, 2025, a landlord deducting for repairs or cleaning must photograph the unit before work begins, and again after
- For tenancies starting on or after July 1, 2025, he also needed move-in photos, not retroactive for older tenancies
- Both before and after sets must be included with the itemized statement, not just referenced
- Doesn't matter how long you lived there, even a decade-long tenancy needed move-out photos if you left after April 2025
Paperwork required
- A written itemized statement listing every deduction and the leftover money, required within 21 days regardless of the photo rule
- Receipts and invoices for the deductions themselves, a charge with no invoice behind it is the weakest line on any statement
- Documentation required for repair work over roughly $126, and for his own employees' labor, a statement of hourly rate and hours worked
Missing photo documentation bars the deduction entirely, not just reduces it. Judges apply this with some flexibility, so treat it as a strong argument, not an automatic win.
File a ComplaintWhat is your security deposit claim actually worth?
Deposit withheld
The portion he kept without a valid, documented reason.
Up to 2x for bad faith
Civil Code 1950.5(l), discretionary, not automatic.
Actual damages
A specific, documented loss beyond the deposit, less common.
Your filing costs
Generally recoverable by the prevailing party, add them to your claim.
Penalty more likely
- No itemized statement sent at all
- Charges he can't document
- A written demand was ignored
- Deductions for conditions he already knew about
Penalty less likely
- He was a few days late, otherwise complied
- A genuine, good-faith dispute over damage
- Part returned promptly, rest disputed reasonably
- An honest arithmetic error, later corrected
How to sue your landlord for your security deposit
Before filing
Send a demand letter first. Not required, but a meaningful share of disputes settle here.
- Property & datesAddress, tenancy dates, deposit amount, date possession returned
- The exact deadlineThe date the 21-day window expired, stated plainly
- What you disputeEach deduction you challenge, cite Civil Code 1950.5
- A number & deadlineWhat you're demanding, usually 14 days, plus a forwarding address
File form SC-100
SC-100 is the "Plaintiff's Claim and Order to Go to Small Claims Court," the actual form that starts your case. In the county where the rental property sits, even if you've since moved.
- Filing fee$30 up to $1,500, $50 up to $5,000, $75 up to $12,500
- The cap$12,500 for an individual claimant
- Fee waiverAvailable on form FW-001
- Frequency ruleNo more than two claims above $2,500 per year statewide
Name the defendant
Get this wrong and you can win the hearing and hold an unenforceable judgment.
- Individual landlordCorrect legal name, current address
- LLC or corporationName the entity exactly as registered
- Property manager onlyName both owner and manager, costs nothing extra
- Property sold mid-tenancyName both old and new owner
Serve the papers
You can't serve them yourself, California gives you three routes.
- Certified mailCheapest, ~$15, only works if he signs
- Personal serviceA friend or process server, $60-$100, most reliable
- Substituted serviceLeave with an adult, then mail a copy
- Deadlines15 days in-county, 20 if outside, proof filed on form SC-104, the court's "Proof of Service" form
Prepare your evidence
Three copies of everything, one for the judge, him, and you.
- Paper trailLease, deposit proof, itemized statement
- PhotosDate-stamped move-out photos, every room
- CommunicationDemand letter, mail receipt, texts and emails in order
- One-page summaryDates and amount claimed, your highest-leverage document
At the hearing
Sworn in, briefly explain your claim, lead with the timeline. No attorneys allowed.
- "It was damaged"Answer with photos and the wear-and-tear framework
- "I sent the statement"Ask for his mailing record
- "Repairs cost more"Ask for invoices, none is his weakest defense
- "You broke the lease"Doesn't convert a deposit into a forfeiture
After judgment
A judgment is permission to collect, not money.
- AskSend the judgment with a payment deadline
- Judgment debtor examCompels him into court under oath about his assets
- Abstract of judgmentA lien on any property he owns in the county
- Writ of executionA bank levy or till levy through the sheriff
- Wage garnishmentUp to 20% of disposable earnings, if he's employed
- Interest & duration10% a year, enforceable for 10 years, he can appeal within 30 days, a full new hearing, not just a review
Security deposit FAQs
SueEasy is a self-help legal technology product built by LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, P.C. Using SueEasy does not create an attorney-client relationship and does not provide legal advice. We are not a law firm and cannot represent you in court. Every California county provides a free small claims advisor, and we can point you to yours.