Published 2026-09-27 · 8 min read

California Security Deposit Law 2026: Limits, Deadlines & Deductions

California caps security deposits at one month's rent for most landlords, requires return within 21 calendar days, and punishes bad-faith withholding with up to twice the deposit on top of the deposit itself — all under Civil Code § 1950.5. Since AB 12 took effect July 1, 2024, the old two- and three-month caps are gone. Every section below is from California Civil Code § 1950.5.

The short version: For any lease starting on or after July 1, 2024, collect at most one month's rent (two months only if you're a qualifying small landlord). Within 21 calendar days of move-out, return the balance with a written itemized statement — including receipts for any charge over $125. Bad-faith withholding can cost you the deposit plus up to two more deposits in penalties.

The statute table

Limits: how much can you charge?

One month's rent — furnished or unfurnished, AB 12 erased the distinction. The narrow small-landlord exception allows up to two months' rent only if you are a natural person (or an LLC whose members are all natural persons) owning no more than two rental properties totaling four or fewer dwelling units. The exception never applies to service-member tenants: their cap is one month, always. Pet deposits count toward the cap, not on top of it (the statute covers "security, however denominated," though pets aren't named explicitly). Deposits lawfully collected before July 1, 2024 under the old limits stay legal — AB 12 isn't retroactive — but any renewal or new lease falls under the one-month rule.

Check your cap with the Security Deposit Max Checker.

The 21-day deadline, precisely

21 calendar days after the tenant vacates — weekends and holidays count. You must return the remaining balance with a written itemized statement. For work you or your employees did, list the work, hours, and hourly rate; for outside contractors, attach copies of bills, invoices, or receipts. Any deduction over $125 needs a receipt. If repairs can't reasonably finish in 21 days, send a good-faith estimate within the deadline, then final documentation within 14 days after the work is done. Tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025 also trigger AB 2801's photo-documentation rules: photograph the unit at move-in, because deductions need photographic support.

Find your exact date with the Security Deposit Deadline Finder.

When the clock actually starts

The statute runs the 21 days from the day the tenant vacates — not from the day your cleaner finishes, not from the day a contractor's invoice arrives, and not from the day you get around to walking the unit. In an ordinary move-out, vacating, surrender of keys, and your inspection all land within a day or two of each other, so the practical rule is to treat the vacate date as day zero and count forward from there. Write that date in the deposit file the day the keys come back. If a return is ever disputed, the vacate date is the fact everything else turns on, and a landlord who reconstructed it from memory months later starts the argument from behind. Twenty-one days feels comfortable right up until a disputed deduction, a slow repair quote, and a missing receipt eat most of it — start the accounting in the first week, not the third.

A worked example

Say a tenant vacates on Monday, March 2, 2026, from a unit renting for $2,900 a month with a $2,900 deposit — the one-month maximum. Counting 21 calendar days from March 2, the return deadline falls on Monday, March 23, 2026: by that date you must have returned the balance together with the written itemized statement, including receipts for any single charge over $125. Suppose the tenant left $400 of unpaid rent and $650 of documented damage and cleaning beyond ordinary wear and tear — $1,050 of legitimate deductions. Handled on time, you keep the $1,050 and return $1,850 with the itemized statement, and the matter is closed. Handled late or in bad faith, the same $1,050 becomes the backdrop for the penalty in the section below. Work backwards from March 23: inspect and photograph in the first few days, price the repairs by the end of the first week, and have the statement and check ready days early so a lost envelope or a wrong address cannot make you late.

Deductions and the itemized list

Four permitted buckets only: (1) unpaid rent, (2) repair of damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, (3) cleaning to restore move-in cleanliness, and (4) restoring alterations the lease required the tenant to undo. Ordinary wear and tear is not deductible — The California Department of Consumer Affairs' official tenants' guide suggests interior paint has about a two-year useful life (not three — some landlords assume three or more), so repainting after a two-year tenancy is generally not chargeable; carpet replacement is prorated by remaining useful life (e.g., an 8-year-old carpet with a 10-year life expectancy supports only a 2-years'-worth charge). The tenant may also request a pre-move-out inspection within two weeks before the tenancy ends; do it, because it surfaces disputes while they're fixable.

Build the letter with the Security Deposit Deduction Letter Generator.

Move-out compliance checklist

1. Fix the clock on day one. Record the vacate date in the deposit file when the keys come back — the 21-day count runs from vacating, and every later step is measured against it.

2. Honor the pre-move-out inspection. If the tenant requested one within two weeks of the end of the tenancy, do the walkthrough and hand over the itemized list of proposed deductions so fixable issues get fixed before they become charges.

3. Inspect and photograph within the first few days. Walk the unit promptly and photograph every room before cleaning or repairs begin; for tenancies covered by AB 2801, those move-in and move-out photos are what support each deduction.

4. Price deductions from records, not estimates. Tie every deduction to one of the four permitted buckets in § 1950.5, using invoices, receipts, or your own log of work, hours, and hourly rate.

5. Itemize every dollar in writing. List each deduction and what it covers alongside the balance being returned, and attach receipts for any charge over $125 — a single lump-sum figure does not satisfy § 1950.5(h).

6. Deliver well before day 21. Send the itemized statement and the balance inside the 21-calendar-day window; if repairs genuinely cannot finish in time, send the good-faith estimate inside the window and the final documentation within 14 days after the work is done.

7. Keep the file after you deliver. Retain the lease, photos, itemization, receipts, and proof of delivery together; the bad-faith multiplier under § 1950.5(m) means a tenant can afford to challenge a sloppy file long after move-out.

Interest and where the money sits

California imposes no statewide interest requirement and no separate-account mandate (some cities differ — check local ordinances). The tenant's protection comes from the 21-day clock and the penalty, not from how you hold the funds.

The penalty, spelled out

Bad-faith retention lets a court award up to twice the amount of the security (the full deposit), in addition to actual damages — a $2,900 deposit kept without justification can become an $8,700 judgment. "Bad faith" is the key word: a well-documented, timely, itemized return defeats the multiplier even if the tenant disagrees with a deduction. Missing the 21-day deadline can support a bad-faith finding.

Run the worked example through that penalty: the $1,050 of legitimate deductions, returned late and found to be in bad faith, exposes you to the $2,900 deposit itself in actual damages plus up to $5,800 in statutory damages — $8,700 in total on a dispute over deductions nobody may have contested. California gives you one of the shortest return windows in the country; what it does not give you is a second chance once the 21 days have run.

Read the statute and the official guides yourself

Everything on this page traces back to Civil Code § 1950.5, plus the state's own plain-language guidance on how deposits work in practice. If a deadline or deduction is ever disputed, the statutory text and the official guides — not a summary — are what control:

• Security deposits (California Courts Self-Help Guide) — the Judicial Branch's official plain-language guide, confirming the one-month cap, the 21-day return and itemization duties, and what a tenant can recover for bad-faith withholding.
• Landlord and tenant issues (California Attorney General) — the Attorney General's official consumer guidance on landlord-tenant disputes, including where deposit disagreements are handled.

FAQ

Does the one-month cap apply to my existing lease from 2023?

Not retroactively. A two-month deposit lawfully collected before July 1, 2024 stays legal. The one-month cap applies to new leases, renewals, and extensions after that date.

Do I qualify for the small-landlord exception?

Only if you're a natural person (or all-natural-person LLC) with no more than two rental properties totaling four or fewer units — and even then, not for service-member tenants.

Can I charge a nonrefundable pet deposit?

No. Section 1950.5(n) voids any "nonrefundable" label, and pet deposits count toward the one-month cap.

What if repairs take longer than 21 days?

Send a good-faith written estimate within 21 days, then the final itemized documentation within 14 days after completion.

Does the tenant get interest on the deposit?

Not under state law. Some local ordinances require it — verify yours.

Can the tenant inspect before moving out?

Yes — they may request an inspection within two weeks before the tenancy ends, and you must give them an itemized statement of proposed deductions afterward so they can fix issues first.

When exactly does the 21-day clock start?

On the day the tenant vacates. Treat the day the tenancy ends and the keys come back as day zero, log that date in the deposit file, and count 21 calendar days forward — weekends and holidays count, and your cleaning and repair schedule does not move the deadline.

Do I need photographs to support a deduction?

For tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025, yes — AB 2801's photo-documentation rules require move-in and move-out photographs to support deductions. Even where the rule does not reach a tenancy, dated photos kept with the lease are what turn an itemized list from an assertion into a record.

Track the itemized statement

California's 21-day clock and the pre-move-out inspection give you a paper trail — but only if you keep one. The Security Deposit Disposition Tracker logs every deduction with its evidence and receipts, builds the itemized statement, and timestamps the return against the 21-day deadline, so a good-faith estimate never turns into a dispute you can't document.

More security deposit guides

• Security deposit laws by state
• Arkansas security deposit law
• Colorado security deposit law
• Arizona security deposit law
• Connecticut security deposit law

Last verified: October 14, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Verify with a licensed California attorney before acting.