Sophia (Sohyun) Hong · California attorney (CA Bar #362910)
The itemized statement, the landlord's line-by-line accounting, shows $600 for painting, cleaning, and supplies. No invoice, hours, rate, or photographs arrived.
The short answer
You can generally cash an ordinary refund check and still dispute deductions.
Read the check and letter for a full-settlement offer. Cashing a check offered as full settlement can close the dispute.
Request missing documents within 14 calendar days after receiving the itemized statement.
Save the package and proof of delivery.
Can you request the missing documents now?
Yes. Send the request within that 14-day deadline.
After receiving it, the landlord has 14 calendar days to comply under California Civil Code § 1950.5(h)(5). This applies despite the combined-$125 exception or a claimed agreement giving up the document right.
You can write:
I received the itemized security-deposit statement on [date]. Under California Civil Code § 1950.5(h)(5), I request the documents described in paragraphs (h)(2) and (3) for every repair and cleaning deduction. Please provide them within 14 calendar days after receiving this request.
Save your sent request, statement, delivery record, and proof of delivery.
Above the threshold, the initial duty may already exist without an effective agreement giving up that right. Your request does not create it.
What support should arrive with the statement?
The statement and supporting documents are separate parts of the package.
California Civil Code § 1950.5(h)(2)(A)–(D) divides that support into four categories, subject to the exceptions below.
For landlord or employee work, the statement should describe the work, time, and reasonable hourly rate. An outside receipt may not exist. “Painting labor: $600” lacks the time-and-rate detail.
For outside work, the landlord should provide the provider's bill, invoice, or receipt. If that document omits the information, the statement should add the provider's name, address, and telephone number.
Materials generally require a bill, invoice, or receipt. For regularly bought items, a vendor price list or other vendor document can qualify. It must reasonably document cost.
The fourth category is required photographs plus a written cost explanation. For disputes over necessary cleaning, see California security deposit cleaning fees.
Check if your deductions are valid. Mark who did each job.
Does every charge over $125 need a receipt?
No. That shortcut gets both wrong.
California Civil Code § 1950.5(h)(4) adds repair and cleaning deductions together. At exactly $125 or less, the landlord need not initially follow paragraphs (h)(2) and (h)(3). The statement and remaining-refund duties remain.
Above that total, the exception does not apply. Each charge does not need a paid receipt. Proof depends on its category.
Paragraph (h)(4) recognizes a narrowly timed waiver, meaning an intentional surrender of a right. It must use the wording required by the statute. An original-lease clause is not enough merely because it exists.
Can the landlord send an estimate instead?
Yes, in two limited situations. A good-faith estimate is an honestly made, temporary estimate before final accounting.
Under California Civil Code § 1950.5(h)(3), it may cover landlord or employee repairs that cannot reasonably be completed within 21 calendar days after you vacate. It may also cover outside service, material, or supply documents unavailable to the landlord within that period.
When outside documents are missing, the statement must give the provider's name, address, and telephone number. The landlord must finish accounting and document delivery within 14 calendar days after repair completion or document receipt. The clock does not automatically run from the original statement.
Ask what was estimated, why, and whether the repair or documents arrived. Save the reply.
Which photographs should exist?
California Civil Code § 1950.5(g)(1)–(2) requires move-in photographs for rentals beginning on or after July 1, 2025. Since April 1, 2025, it also requires photographs after the tenant hands back the unit but before deducted work, and after the work.
Subdivision (g) requires the landlord to take these photographs. Paragraph (h)(2)(D) covers providing them with the cost explanation, subject to paragraphs (h)(4) and (h)(5).
Match images to line items. Undated room photographs may leave the sequence or supported cost unclear.
Does missing documentation erase every deduction?
Not automatically. Missing support can leave a deduction unsupported and show noncompliance, meaning failure to follow the law. That does not show bad faith, which requires more than missing paperwork.
Under California Civil Code § 1950.5(h)(7), a landlord cannot claim any security after a bad-faith failure to follow subdivision (h). One missing invoice does not automatically award the entire deposit.
California Civil Code § 1950.5, subdivision (m), addresses another result. A bad-faith claim or keeping of the deposit may support statutory damages, meaning money authorized by law, of up to twice the security. This is in addition to actual damages, meaning proven losses, when warranted.
A court decides. In a lawsuit, the landlord must prove the claimed amounts are reasonable. That does not itself prove bad faith.
If documents never arrive, write again. Identify unsupported lines and the request date. Ask about any estimate. Request the missing support and unsupported amount. Silence enters your record, but does not decide intent.
Individualized California legal help may be useful for disputed document authenticity, costs above the deposit, extensive damage, or contested waiver or estimate dates. It may also help when bad-faith damages materially change what you would ask a court to award.
Check if your deductions are valid. Organize the statement, request clock, missing proof, and response before choosing your next step.
