---
title: "How to return a security deposit"
description: "Itemize deposit deductions, meet the 21-day California or 30-day Texas deadline, and return the rest from the trust account."
url: https://tivio.io/blog/how-to-return-a-security-deposit
author: "Tivio Team"
publisher: Tivio (https://tivio.io)
published: 2026-10-26
updated: 2026-10-26
topic: "Leases"
---

# How to return a security deposit

> Return the security deposit, or what remains after lawful deductions, on the state's deadline with an itemized list. California requires the statement and any remainder within 21 calendar days after move-out. Texas requires a refund by the 30th day after surrender, and the duty waits for a written forwarding address without the tenant losing the right to the money. Deduct open rent from the ledger and damage beyond ordinary wear. Hold the deposit in trust until you send it.

## Key takeaways

- California's deadline is 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates. Texas uses the 30th day after surrender, with a forwarding-address rule.
- Deduct unpaid rent that is still on the ledger, and damage beyond ordinary wear. Leave ordinary wear off the list.
- Attach invoices when the statute requires them. In California that threshold is deductions over $125.
- Apply the deposit on the books, return the rest, and zero the deposit. Do not treat the whole deposit as rent income.

Return the security deposit, or what remains after lawful deductions, on the deadline for that state, with an itemized list the tenant can check against the move-in notes. California gives you 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates. Texas gives you until the 30th day after surrender, and the refund duty waits for a written forwarding address without the tenant losing the right to the money.

![An empty apartment room with bare floors and corner windows.](https://tivio.io/blog/media/2026/10/an-empty-apartment-room-with-bare-floors-and-corner-windows-iml3ug.webp)

## When do you have to return a security deposit?

The clock is local. Two statutes show why you cannot use one national due date.

In California, [Civil Code section 1950.5](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1950.5) requires the itemized statement and any remaining deposit no later than 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates. The California courts' [self-help guide](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/guide-security-deposits-california) says the same 21 days. If deductions exceed $125, attach invoices or receipts. If you or your employee did the work, describe the work, the time, and the hourly rate. If a repair cannot be finished in time for a good reason, you may send a good-faith estimate, then the final invoices within 14 days after the work is done. Photographs are required around move-out, before and after the repairs you deduct, under the same section.

In Texas, [Property Code section 92.103](https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-103/) says the landlord shall refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after surrender, except as section 92.107 provides. [Section 92.107](https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-107/) says you are not obligated to return the deposit or the written description of damages until the tenant gives a written forwarding address. The tenant does not forfeit the deposit by failing to give that address. [Section 92.109](https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-109/) presumes bad faith if you miss the 30 days, and it describes liability of $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees. A notice-of-surrender requirement in the lease counts only if it is underlined or in conspicuous bold. This is not a complete reading of chapter 92. Use the statute or a Texas attorney on a live file.

Other states and provinces pick their own day count. Put the deadline for that unit on the move-out checklist the day you get the keys back.

## How do you itemize a real move-out?

Unit 2. Deposit held: $1,850. Tenant returns keys on April 30, 2026. You walk the unit the same day, with the move-in photos.

| Item | Amount | Why it is on the list |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unpaid April rent remainder | $200.00 | Open on the ledger, not a damage guess |
| Patch and paint, bedroom wall | $180.00 | Hole beyond ordinary wear, invoice attached |
| Oven clean | $0.00 | Matches move-in. Ordinary use. Do not charge it. |
| Returned to tenant | $1,470.00 | $1,850 minus $200 minus $180 |

Ordinary wear is not a deduction. Faded paint, a loose doorknob that was loose at move-in, and a carpet that is older by one year stay off the list. The unpaid rent belongs on the list only because the ledger still shows it. If the ledger is wrong, fix the ledger first.

Send the itemized list and the $1,470 together, by the method the statute requires. In California that is personal delivery or first-class mail, with extra rules when the deposit or the rent was paid electronically. Read the current subsection before you choose a wire or a check. In Texas, mail to the forwarding address the tenant gave you in writing.

## How do you record the return?

The deposit was never rent income. Returning $1,470 is not an expense that reduces rent. It is the tenant's money leaving the trust account.

On the books:

1. Apply $200 of the deposit to the open rent. That part becomes rent collected, because the charge was real.
2. Pay the $180 vendor bill from the deposit, or reimburse the owner if they already paid the painter, and keep the invoice.
3. Send $1,470 to the tenant.
4. The deposit balance for that tenant is then zero.

If you send the owner the full $1,850 at move-in, you will be asking for $1,470 back on a deadline. Hold the deposit until this list is done.

[Tivio](https://tivio.io/) keeps the deposit on the lease and the open charges on the ledger, so the $200 you deduct is an open balance you can point to. The owner statement should show the $200 as rent only after you apply it, and the vendor bill as a bill, not as a mystery "deposit adjustment."

Do this in order: walk the unit, compare photos, list only lawful items, apply open rent from the ledger, pay vendors, return the rest, zero the deposit. The date you got the keys goes at the top of the file, next to the statutory deadline.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I deduct for ordinary wear?

No. Faded paint and ordinary aging stay off the list. A hole in the wall, or unpaid rent still open on the ledger, can be a deduction when the statute and the lease allow it.

### What if the repairs are not finished in 21 days in California?

The courts' guide says you may send a good-faith estimate, then the final invoices within 14 days after the work is done. Read Civil Code section 1950.5 for the current wording before you rely on an estimate.

### Does a Texas tenant lose the deposit by skipping a forwarding address?

No. Section 92.107 says you are not obligated to send the refund until you have a written forwarding address, and the tenant does not forfeit the deposit by failing to give one.

### Should the owner receive the deposit at move-in?

No. Hold it in the trust account until you apply lawful deductions and return the rest. Paying it out early means collecting it back on a deadline.

## Sources

- [California Civil Code section 1950.5](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1950.5), California Legislative Information
- [Guide to security deposits in California](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/guide-security-deposits-california), California Courts
- [Texas Property Code section 92.103](https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-103/), Texas Legislature, via Justia
- [Texas Property Code section 92.107](https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-107/), Texas Legislature, via Justia
- [Texas Property Code section 92.109](https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-109/), Texas Legislature, via Justia