Security Deposits — California Civil Code § 1950.5

California's security deposit rules live in Civil Code § 1950.5, and a separate provision — § 1950.6 — caps what a landlord can charge an applicant just to run a background or credit check before move-in. The two are kept deliberately apart: § 1950.5(b) excludes the application screening fee from the definition of "security."

The headline question is the cap — how much a landlord may demand, and when that cap moves depending on who the landlord is. The rest of the statute governs what happens at move-out: an inspection right, a photograph requirement, and a strict 21-day deadline to account for the money.

By default, a landlord may not demand or receive security "however denominated" in excess of one month's rent, on top of the first month's rent paid before move-in (§ 1950.5(c)(1)). A landlord may still require an advance payment of six months' rent or more if the lease itself runs six months or longer (§ 1950.5(c)(2)) — that is a lease-term rule, not a deposit exception.

A small-landlord exception raises the cap to two months' rent when the landlord is a natural person (or an LLC whose members are all natural persons) who owns no more than two residential rental properties totaling no more than four dwelling units offered for rent (§ 1950.5(c)(5)(A)). That higher cap does not apply if the applicant is a service member (§ 1950.5(c)(5)(B)), and it does not reach any deposit collected before July 1, 2024 (§ 1950.5(c)(6)).

The deposit may only cover unpaid rent, repairing damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, cleaning the unit back to the level of cleanliness it was in at move-in, and — if the lease says so — restoring or replacing personal property (§ 1950.5(b)). A landlord can never charge for damage that predated the tenancy, or for ordinary wear and tear, no matter how many tenancies it accumulated over (§ 1950.5(e)(2)(A)).

A tenant may request an initial inspection before move-out; the landlord must give at least 48 hours' written notice of the date and time (§ 1950.5(f)(1)). Photographs are now part of the record: for tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025, the landlord must photograph the unit at move-in, and since April 1, 2025 the landlord must also photograph it after move-out, both before and after any repairs or cleaning charged against the deposit (§ 1950.5(g)).

No later than 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates, the landlord must send an itemized statement of any deductions and return whatever remains of the deposit (§ 1950.5(h)(1)). Combined deductions of $125 or less don't require supporting documents (§ 1950.5(h)(4)(A)); a landlord who keeps or claims the deposit in bad faith can be ordered to pay up to twice the deposit amount in statutory damages, on top of actual damages (§ 1950.5(m)).

Separately, an application screening fee — charged before a tenancy starts, to cover a background or credit check — is capped at $30 per applicant, adjusted annually for inflation since January 1, 1998 (§ 1950.6(b)). It is refundable: a landlord who doesn't run the check must return the unused portion, and the fee must be returned in full within 7 days of selecting a tenant, or 30 days of the application, whichever comes first, if the applicant isn't chosen (§ 1950.6(c)(2)(B)). GoCodebook checks the current cap and deadlines before you write a lease.