It’s common practice that before a tenant occupies a rented apartment, the landlord requests from the tenant a security deposit. This amount gives the landlord the assurance that any damages made in the apartment during the tenant’s tenure get paid for. In case there is little or no damage, the tenant requests the landlord a refund on his security deposit through a security deposit return letter.
Leaving an apartment for a new residence can often time be very hectic as you need to supervise the move. This is where the security deposit return letter can come in handy. You may not have the time to talk to your landlord, so the best way to handle this issue is sending him a letter. Use the security deposit refund form or letter if:
Before the landlord sends you your return deposit, he will inspect the apartment. At this point, you may have already left the premises and if you didn’t inform him where to send the return deposit, he wouldn’t know where to send it.
Remember that the security deposit is your money. Therefore, you must make sure that you get it. The security deposit return form specifies your new address to will ensure that you get your money back, and quickly.
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For a landlord, writing a security deposit return letter should include the financial statement of the tenant during his stay at the apartment. This is the letter’s most important section and must include:
This is a simple transaction between the landlord and the tenant and won’t have to be so meticulously detailed. A simple letter containing the financial statement, the deductions, and the amount of the security deposit given to the tenant will suffice. The landlord can either write this in letter form or as a financial statement.
To ensure that you’re doing it right, check your state laws for compliance with the local requirements. If as a landlord you aren’t sure about how to make the security deposit refund form, you can always hire a professional to prepare the document. Or you can download a template from here and use it as a reference.
It’s highly recommended to send your tenant a financial statement about his return request along with the security deposit return form. The statement should contain the following information:
As mentioned earlier, it’s a common practice for a new tenant to pay a security deposit before occupying the premises. This money belongs to the tenant and is only held by the landlord. Then it’s returned when the tenant decides to leave or until the end of the lease term.
Every state has its own specific laws regarding security deposit that must be strictly followed by both tenants and landlords. This includes the reasons why the landlord may keep the security deposit of his tenant. These are the instances when the tenant won’t get the security deposit:
Charging the tenant for a security deposit is common in all states before the new tenant moves into a leased apartment. In some states, the landlord must deposit this amount in a separate interest-bearing account, although not all these states require the landlord to return the interest accrued with the deposit.
When the tenant leaves the apartment, many states give the landlord between 30 – 45 days to return the security deposit. Some, however, require that the deposit gets returned between 14 – 15 days after the tenant left the apartment. Even without the number of days, the landlord has an obligation to return the security deposit.
The returned security deposit comes with a security deposit return letter detailing how much the landlord will give back and how much deductions, if applicable, he made from the original amount. Providing a financial statement is the recommended way of settling the return, where the landlord can show in a more detailed manner the same information.
In rare occasions, the landlord will return the entire security deposit. This applies to really good and clean tenants. Most of the time, however, the landlord makes deductions and the tenant only receives a part of the deposit. In the worst cases, the tenant may even owe the landlord money.
The landlord must give justifications for any deductions made. Otherwise, the tenant can sue in a small claims court. If the landlord can justify that the tenant warrants such deductions from the original deposit, then the former need not return the full amount.
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