A California move-out statement is a short document with a long list of attachments. The statement itself fits on one page: what you received, what you kept and why, and what you are sending back. The attachments are what make it hold up.
Here is what the statute asks for, a template you can copy, and a filled-in example.
What the statement has to say
Civil Code § 1950.5(h)(1) asks for an itemized statement “indicating the basis for, and the amount of, any security received and the disposition of the security.” Read that as three things.
- What you received. Every dollar collected as security, including anything that was called a fee at signing. Apart from the application screening fee, California counts all of it as security.
- What you kept, line by line. Each deduction gets its own line with the reason and the amount. “Cleaning and repairs, $400” is not itemized.
- What you returned. The remainder, and how it is being sent.
It goes out no later than 21 calendar days after the tenant has vacated. Personal delivery or first-class mail is the default. Email works only if you and the tenant agreed to it, at signing or any time after.
What goes with it
This is where most statements fall short. When you deduct for repairs or cleaning, subdivision (h)(2) requires copies of the paperwork behind each charge, sent at the same time:
- Work you or your employee did: a reasonable description of the work, the time spent, and the hourly rate.
- Work a contractor did: a copy of their bill, invoice, or receipt. If it lacks their name, address, and phone number, put those on the statement.
- Materials and supplies: a copy of the receipt. For things you buy on an ongoing basis, a vendor price list or similar document is enough.
- Photos: the move-out photos taken before and after the repairs or cleaning, and the move-in photos for tenancies that began on or after July 1, 2025. A link to an online album is allowed.
Two exceptions. If repair and cleaning deductions together come to $125 or less, the documents are not required up front. The same goes when the tenant signed a valid waiver near the end of the tenancy. Either way, if the tenant asks for the documents within 14 days of getting the statement, you have 14 days to send them. Keep them ready regardless.
When the work is not done yet
Sometimes the painter cannot come until week four. The statute plans for that. If a repair cannot reasonably be finished within the 21 days, or a vendor’s invoice has not arrived, you can deduct a good faith estimate and say on the statement that it is an estimate. If you are waiting on a vendor’s paperwork, list the vendor’s name, address, and phone number too. Within 14 days of finishing the work or getting the invoice, send the final documents and settle any difference.
An estimate that turns out high is money you owe back. Price it honestly.
The template
Copy this structure. Fill in every bracket, and delete any line that does not apply rather than leaving it at zero.
ITEMIZED STATEMENT OF SECURITY DEPOSIT
(California Civil Code section 1950.5(h))
Tenant(s): [every adult tenant on the lease]
Property: [street address and unit]
Tenancy: [start date] to [date the tenant vacated]
Statement date: [date sent]
SECURITY RECEIVED
Deposit received [date] $[amount]
Interest credited (only if your city requires) $[amount]
DEDUCTIONS
1. [Room]: [what was wrong] / [what was done] / [who did it] $[amount]
2. ...
Total deductions $[amount]
AMOUNT RETURNED $[amount]
Sent by: [check by first-class mail, or electronic transfer
to the account the tenant designated in writing]
ATTACHED
[each invoice, receipt, and labor description, by line number]
[where the move-in and move-out photos can be viewed]
If your city requires interest on deposits, it belongs on this statement too. California cities that require security deposit interest lists the current rates.
A worked example
A two-bedroom rented at $2,200 a month, with a $2,200 security deposit paid at signing. The tenancy began August 1, 2025, so there are statutory move-in photos. The tenant moved out on September 30, 2026, which puts the statement’s due date at October 21.
The move-in report and photos showed a clean oven and fridge, an unmarked living room wall, and an intact bedroom blind. At move-out, the oven and fridge needed real cleaning, someone had mounted a shelf with six wall anchors, and one blind was snapped.
| Line | What was wrong | Who did the work | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kitchen: oven and refrigerator interiors not cleaned (clean at move-in, photos 4-7) | Owner, 2.5 hours at $35/hour | $87.50 |
| 2 | Cleaning supplies for line 1 | Receipt attached | $14.20 |
| 3 | Living room: six anchor holes from a mounted shelf, patched and spot painted | Contractor, invoice attached | $240.00 |
| 4 | Bedroom 2: one blind with broken slats (intact at move-in, photo 18) | Replacement blind, receipt attached | $38.60 |
| 5 | Labor to install the blind in line 4 | Owner, 0.5 hours at $35/hour | $17.50 |
| Total deductions | $397.80 |
Security received: $2,200.00. Deductions: $397.80. Amount returned: $1,802.20.
The deductions are over $125, so everything goes in the envelope: the contractor’s invoice, both receipts, the labor descriptions for lines 1 and 5, and a link to the move-in and move-out photos with the numbers referenced on each line.
Notice what is missing. No line for repainting the whole living room, because the rest of the wall was ordinary wear. No professional carpet cleaning, because the carpet was in move-in condition and § 1950.5(e)(2)(C) bars that charge unless it is reasonably necessary. No line for a light bulb. Restraint on the small stuff makes the real lines more credible.
If one of these lines were for something with a useful life, like a carpet that had to be replaced, price it at the value it had left rather than the price of a new one. The statute caps charges at a reasonable amount to restore move-in condition, exclusive of ordinary wear, and a new carpet for an old one goes past that. Normal wear and tear vs damage walks through that math, and the multi-state deduction letter guide covers the same steps for other states.
Before you send it
- Check the date. Count 21 calendar days from the day the tenant vacated, not from the day you got around to the inspection.
- Check the method. If the tenant paid the deposit or rent electronically, the refund goes back electronically to an account they designated in writing, unless you agreed in writing on another method.
- Check the names. With several adult tenants and no written agreement among all of them, the check is payable to all the adult tenants on the lease.
- Read every line out loud. If you would be uncomfortable saying it to a small claims judge, fix it now.
The full statute, section by section, is in California Civil Code 1950.5 in plain English. Deposit tracking keeps the deposit received, the deadline, and the receipts on the tenancy record, and condition reports hold the move-in and move-out photos you will reference on each line.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and local ordinances vary. Confirm current requirements with your city, county, or an attorney before you act.