Wherewithal

California security deposit return obligations for landlords

What the statute requires of you in California: return deadlines, clock triggers, itemization / notice duties, deposit caps, and penalties for non-compliance — drawn from Wherewithal’s statute research corpus. A landlord who complies correctly does not create a statutory penalty claim.

Confidence: PRIMARY

PRIMARY — main elements read against statute text

Deadline to return / account	21 days
When the clock starts	tenant vacates
Penalty for non-compliance	up to 2× (bad faith) + actual
Deposit cap (maximum you may collect)	1 mo (AB12 Jul'24)
Escrow / interest requirements	no
Citation	Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1940.5(g), 1950.5

Source: Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1940.5(g), 1950.5

Compliance flags / traps

⚠⚠ AB2801 photo (Apr'25, date-gated); receipts >$125; walk-through right

Residual review notes

CA AB2801 date-gate detail: 21-day return primary-confirmed; AB12 1-mo cap + AB2801 photo rules date-gate should be re-pinned to session law text.

Corpus version: fcfec2024d20ca6c (hash of human fields; use as last-updated fingerprint)

Deadline calculator

Compliance tool only — estimates the statutory return / accounting window from Wherewithal’s corpus fields. Not legal advice. No case is created.

This state’s corpus encodes a primary numeric window of 21 days. Enter the move-out / possession-delivery date the statute keys on.

Move-out / termination date (when possession is delivered)

Tenant side: California security deposit return rules

Same statute corpus, framed for tenants organizing a deposit-return claim.

Nearby states (landlord side)

Wherewithal is an organizational tool only. Not legal advice. Consider consulting a licensed attorney. This page is compliance information for landlords summarizing statutory duties — not legal advice.

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