Seven steps, in the order they happen. The deposit deadline is 21 days from the day possession comes back to you, and one step has to happen before anyone cleans anything.
We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. This is a plain description of the process. For advice about your own situation, ask someone licensed to give it.
Notify the tenant of the option to request an initial inspection and of the right to be present. If they request one, give at least 48 hours written notice of the date and time.
Civil Code 1950.5(f). Does not apply when terminating under Code of Civil Procedure 1161(2), (3) or (4). If the tenant does not request one, there is nothing further to do. Keep the notice.
An itemized statement of the repairs or cleanings proposed as the basis of deductions. Given to the tenant if present, otherwise left inside the unit. They then have until the tenancy ends to fix those items.
Confirm the move-out date in writing. Collect every key, fob and remote. The 21 day deposit clock starts here.
Required since April 1, 2025, for every tenancy whatever its start date. Once a cleaner or contractor starts, the condition is gone and cannot be recreated.
Every room, before any cleaning or repair starts.
Ordinary wear and tear is not deductible and the deposit cannot fund upgrades. Keep receipts and invoices rather than estimates.
A second set once the repairs or cleanings are done. Before and after, sitting next to what the work cost.
Return it in full, or send the itemized statement with the photographs and a written explanation of the cost of the allowable repairs or cleanings.
A landlord who in bad faith fails to comply with the itemized statement requirements is barred from making that claim against the tenant or the deposit.
Step 4 is the one Sealed Walkthrough exists for. Walk a shot list on a phone, and the photographs are stamped against world time (UTC) the moment they arrive, with the location the phone reported and the unit address sealed alongside. Nothing can be changed afterward by anyone, including us. See how it works for landlords.
If belongings were left behind: that is a separate process under Civil Code 1980 to 1991, not part of the deposit. The property cannot simply be discarded.
If the deduction is disputed: it usually goes to small claims. A judge reads the itemized statement, looks at the before and after photographs, and decides whether the two line up. The argument is almost always about when the condition was recorded.
Every other step on this page can be fixed late. The move-out photographs cannot, because the condition is gone the moment the cleaning starts.
Sealed walkthroughs for landlords