About

About

Free, copy-paste demand letters to help renters get their security deposit back — without paying for a generic form that leaves the law blank.

When a landlord won't return a deposit, the thing that usually works isn't a phone call — it's a dated letter that cites the statutory deadline the landlord missed and the penalty they now owe. Most "free deposit letter" templates online are one generic form with no state-specific deadline, statute, or penalty filled in. This site organizes letters by your exact situation and pairs them with a verified, state-by-state reference so you can put the real numbers in.

Letters are grouped into: demand letters (initial request, formal demand, no itemized statement, no response after the deadline), disputes over specific deductions (normal wear vs damage, cleaning and carpet fees, repainting, inflated repair costs, deposit applied to disputed rent), process and evidence (request an itemization, give a written forwarding address, document move-out condition, send certified mail), the state deadlines & penalties table, and small claims (calculate what you're owed, demand before suit).

How we keep it accurate. State deadlines, statute citations, and penalties are checked against the statutes and official state sources, and the table flags where a figure should be re-verified. Even so, landlord-tenant law changes and varies by city — treat everything here as general information, confirm your state's current statute, and for anything contested talk to a lawyer or your local legal aid or tenants' union. This site is not legal advice and is not affiliated with any government agency.