Security Deposit Refund, Request by Tenant

Dear ____________:

My lease for ____________________ ends on _______________. When the lease started, I paid you $_______ as a security deposit.  I request that a full refund of the security deposit be mailed to the following address: _____________________________ ___________________________________________.

Thank you for all your helpfulness during my tenancy. If you can do it, I would appreciate receiving my Security Deposit back within the next two weeks.  If any portion of the security deposit is not returned, please send a written explanation detailing your reasons.

Thank you again for your help,

Best regards,

____________
Tenant

Security Deposit Refund, Request by Tenant
Review List

This review list is provided to inform you about this document in question and assist you in its preparation.  Early submission of your request, and politely done (this is a Sales call, after all), will give you the best results.  Keep a copy so you can mail it out in two weeks, with a notation “Second Notice” in handwriting, will help encourage compliance by the Landlord.  Many Landlords try to “get away” with not paying Security Deposits back, especially if they only own a few units.

If the Landlord does not pay up in a reasonable amount of time, file a claim in Small Claims Court.  Landlords usually lose on these kinds of issues plus get admonished by the Judge.  So filing these claims can often result in a payment prior to any court appearance being necessary.  In other words, your filing in Small Claims Court will leverage compliance by the Landlord.

Also, if the Landlord has tried to make unreasonable deductions, the act of filing in Small Claims Court will soften their approach to the deductions, knowing they will lose most of them if they go to court—given most small claim courts biases in favor of Tenants over Landlords.