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Email templates · Property manager

Email template to dispute deductions from your security deposit

Your landlord sent back part of your deposit, or none of it, along with a list of charges you don't think are fair. Maybe they billed you for repainting, carpet replacement, or a cleaning fee that seems far higher than the state the unit was in. The rule in nearly every state is that a landlord can deduct for damage you caused and for unpaid rent, but not for normal wear and tear, meaning the gradual fading, scuffing and wearing down that happens when someone lives in a place for a while. A nail hole is wear. A hole from a doorknob is damage. This email disputes the charges one at a time, in writing, so the landlord has to respond to each one rather than to a general complaint.

Before you send

  • The landlord's itemized statement. Go through it line by line and mark each charge as "agree," "partly agree," or "dispute."
  • Your move-in and move-out photos, and the move-in inspection checklist if you filled one out. The photos are what turn "I left it clean" into something the landlord can't wave away.
  • The age of anything they charged you to replace. Carpet and paint have a useful life, and many states only allow a landlord to charge the remaining value, not the full replacement cost, of something that was already several years old.
  • Receipts or invoices for the charges. If the statement lists "cleaning $400" with no invoice, ask for one.
  • The exact dollar amount you believe you are owed back, so your ask is specific.
Subject Disputing deductions from security deposit, [your former address, unit number] 
Hi [landlord or property manager name],

Thank you for sending the itemized statement dated [date on statement] for my deposit on [your former address, unit number]. I've gone through it carefully and I'd like to dispute the following charges:

- [Charge name and amount, e.g. Repainting, $350]: [your reason, e.g. the walls had only minor scuffs and small nail holes, which is normal wear, and the unit was last painted in 2019 before I moved in].
- [Charge name and amount, e.g. Carpet replacement, $900]: [your reason, e.g. the carpet was already worn when I moved in, as my move-in photos show, and it was over eight years old].
- [Charge name and amount, e.g. Cleaning, $275]: [your reason, e.g. I had the unit professionally cleaned on move-out day and have the receipt].

I'm attaching my move-in and move-out photos and [any receipts]. I don't dispute [any charge you accept, e.g. the $60 for the broken blind], and I'm fine with that being deducted.

Based on the above, I believe $[amount] of the deposit should still be returned to me. Could you review these items and send the remaining balance to [your forwarding address] by [date, about two weeks out]? I'd like to settle this directly with you rather than through any other process.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A reasonable landlord often returns some of the disputed amount when they see photos, especially for paint and carpet. A partial offer is normal; decide in advance what number you'd accept.
  • A bad reply is one that repeats the charges with no evidence. Reply once asking for the invoices and, for anything replaced, the purchase date of the old item.
  • If they refuse or go silent past your deadline, send a short final email stating that you'll file in small claims court if the balance isn't returned within seven days. Then do it. Deposit cases are the most common thing small claims courts see, and judges expect photos and emails, which you have.
  • Keep the tone even the whole way through. The emails will be read by a third party if it goes that far, and calm plus documented wins.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Dispute the deductions from my security deposit 
Hi StandIn,

My former landlord kept part of my security deposit and I'd like you to dispute the charges I don't agree with.

The rental: [former address and unit number].
Landlord or property manager: [name and email address].
Original deposit and amount returned: [amounts].
Charges I dispute and why: [each charge, its amount, and your reason].
Charges I accept: [any you agree with, or none].
Evidence I have: [move-in photos, move-out photos, receipts, inspection checklist].
My forwarding address: [full mailing address].

Please write to them, go through the charges one by one, ask for invoices where they haven't provided any, and push for the fair amount to be returned. Bring me their reply and your read on whether their offer is reasonable before we accept anything.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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