Security deposit: the evidence timeline, move-in to refund
Page last updated: September 3, 2026 · How we source & update
Deposit disputes are decided almost entirely on evidence created before the dispute existed. This timeline is what to capture and when. The single most-missed step is not photographs — it is giving a written forwarding address, because in several states the landlord owes nothing until you do.
First step, today: find yourself on the map below, then do the "what to do" line for that one stage. Do not skip ahead — each stage creates the record the next one needs.
Where this comes from: this is a process map, not a rule. It contains no deadlines and no dollar figures, because those are set by your state, city, lease and housing type — your state page carries the sourced rule with its citation and review status. This wording has not been attorney-reviewed.
The stages
The diagram above is decorative. Everything it shows is written out below, in the same order — that list is the real content, and it is what screen readers, printers and text browsers get.
- 1 · MOVE-IN — before you unpack
Photograph or film every room, wide then close. Include existing damage, wear, appliances, floors and walls.
What to do: Photos taken after you move furniture in are far weaker. Do it while the unit is empty. - 2 · MOVE-IN — the written condition list
Complete the landlord’s inspection form if there is one, and keep a copy. If there is none, send your own list in writing.
What to do: A condition list the landlord received is the thing that makes "it was already like that" credible. - 3 · DURING — keep the lease and the paper trail
The deposit amount as written in the lease, plus every repair request and reply.
What to do: A repair you reported and they never fixed is not damage you caused. - 4 · MOVE-OUT — photograph again, same order
Same rooms, same angles, empty and cleaned, with dates.
What to do: Matching pairs are what make a deduction hard to sustain. - 5 · MOVE-OUT — the walkthrough and the keys
Attend the inspection if you can. Record when and how you returned the keys.
What to do: When you surrendered the unit can be the date the clock starts. - 6 · AFTER — written forwarding address
Send it in writing and keep proof of sending.
What to do: The most-skipped step. In several states nothing is owed until the landlord has it. - 7 · AFTER — the deadline your state sets
Check your state page for the deadline, what starts it, and whether it changes when the landlord claims against the deposit.
What to do: This map deliberately gives no number: the deadline and its trigger both vary. - 8 · IF NOTHING ARRIVES — written demand, then small claims
A short demand letter, then the local small-claims process.
What to do: Bring the lease, both photo sets, the forwarding-address proof and the demand letter.
Branches and exceptions this map does not decide for you
- Deposit not returned at all, and no statement — that is the overdue path above.
- Returned with deductions you dispute — different argument, built on the matching photo pairs and the condition list.
- Returned less than expected plus a bill for more — ask for the itemization behind every charge before paying anything.
When this is urgent
Your state fills in the numbers
Every deadline, cap and remedy this map deliberately leaves blank is set where you live. The state page carries the rule we have sourced, its official citation, and whether it has been reviewed.
Change log & methodology
September 3, 2026 — created (RS-WEB-AUTHORITY-ACTIVATION-006). Built as stages rather than advice: each node states where you are and what the next decision is, and stops short of choosing for you where the choice is legally consequential. No statutory number appears anywhere on this page by design. Corrections: tell us.