Calculator · California landlords

California security deposit limit calculator

Find the most a landlord may take as security under Civil Code 1950.5, before and after AB 12 took effect on July 1, 2024.

Information, not legal advice. Source: California Civil Code section 1950.5, full text at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (search section 1950.5). Rules checked on 2026-10-22 against the official leginfo.legislature.ca.gov page for Civil Code 1950.5 (fetched that day), which showed the text as amended by Stats. 2025, ch. 340 (AB 414), effective January 1, 2026. Laws change and facts vary, so confirm with the statute or an attorney.

The tenancy

Monthly rent

When is the deposit collected or demanded? The statute keys on when the security was collected or demanded, not the lease date. A lease signed earlier but renewed with a new deposit after the cutoff is a question to take to an attorney.

Furnished? Only matters for deposits collected before July 1, 2024.

Deposit the landlord wants

Landlord and tenant (after July 1, 2024)

Small landlord? Yes only if the landlord is a natural person, or an LLC whose members are all natural persons, and owns no more than 2 residential rental properties with no more than 4 dwelling units offered for rent in total.

Tenant is a service member? Military and Veterans Code section 400 defines this. After July 1, 2024 it removes the small-landlord exception. Before that date it lowered the cap to 1 month unfurnished or 2 furnished.

Poor credit or damage history? (service member, before July 1, 2024) Under the old text this restored the full 2 or 3 month cap.

Rented to a group that includes someone other than the service member's family? (before July 1, 2024) Yes if the tenants include anyone who is not the service member's spouse, parent, domestic partner or dependent. Under old (c)(2)(B) the lower service-member cap then did not apply.

Results

Information, not legal advice. Updates as you type.

Maximum deposit
Months of rent allowed
Requested deposit is
Amount over the limit

How to use this calculator

Enter the monthly rent and say whether the deposit is collected before or on or after July 1, 2024.
For older deposits, say whether the unit is furnished. For newer ones, say whether the landlord is a small landlord and whether the tenant is a service member.
Enter the deposit the landlord is asking for to see whether it is over the limit.

Worked example

Rent is $2,400, the deposit is collected after July 1, 2024, and the landlord owns an apartment building with 12 units, so it is not a small landlord. The cap is one month, $2,400. A $3,600 ask is $1,200 over. Had the landlord been a qualifying small landlord and the tenant not a service member, the cap would be $4,800 and $3,600 would be within it.

How this is calculated

Collected before July 1, 2024: cap = rent x 2 (unfurnished) or rent x 3 (furnished) Civ. Code 1950.5(c) as in effect before AB 12 (Stats. 2023, ch. 733) amended it. Section 1950.5(c)(6) says the new subdivision does not apply to security collected or demanded before July 1, 2024. In that old text the six-month advance was (c)(3) and the alteration clause was (c)(4).
Collected before July 1, 2024, service member tenant: cap = rent x 1 (unfurnished) or rent x 2 (furnished) Old (c)(2). The full 2 or 3 months applied if the tenant had a history of poor credit or of causing damage to the rental property or its furnishings. The lower cap also did not apply where someone other than the service member's spouse, parent, domestic partner or dependent is a tenant.
Collected on or after July 1, 2024: cap = rent x 1 Civ. Code 1950.5(c)(1) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Civil Code section 1950.5). Furnished or not. Read on leginfo 2026-10-22.
Small landlord, tenant not a service member: cap = rent x 2 Civ. Code 1950.5(c)(5)(A) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Civil Code section 1950.5): a natural person or an LLC whose members are all natural persons, owning no more than two residential rental properties that collectively include no more than four dwelling units offered for rent. Read on leginfo 2026-10-22.
Service member tenant: cap = rent x 1 Civ. Code 1950.5(c)(5)(B) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Civil Code section 1950.5). A landlord may not refuse a service member because of this rule. Read on leginfo 2026-10-22.
The cap is on top of any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy ((c)(1)). It does not stop a tenant-requested paid alteration ((c)(3)) or an advance payment of six or more months' rent on a lease of six months or longer ((c)(2)).

The statute's own definition of "natural person" in (c)(5)(C) also covers a settlor or beneficiary of a family trust of closely related people. This tool takes your yes or no on "small landlord" and does not test those facts for you.

Getting the deposit back, in short

21 calendar days. After the tenant has vacated, the landlord has 21 calendar days to send an itemized statement of the basis for and amount of the security and what was done with it, and to return the rest. Civ. Code 1950.5(h)(1) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Civil Code section 1950.5). Read on leginfo 2026-10-22.
Receipts. If someone else did the work, the landlord provides the bill, invoice or receipt, and for materials a copy of the bill, invoice or receipt. 1950.5(h)(2)(B)-(C) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Civil Code section 1950.5). Read on leginfo 2026-10-22.
Move-out photos, from April 1, 2025. The landlord takes photographs within a reasonable time after getting possession back and before repairs or cleaning that will be deducted, and again after the work is done. 1950.5(g)(2) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Civil Code section 1950.5). Read on leginfo 2026-10-22.
Move-in photos, tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025. The landlord takes photographs of the unit immediately before or at the start of the tenancy. 1950.5(g)(1) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Civil Code section 1950.5). Read on leginfo 2026-10-22.
Photos with any deduction. A deduction for repairs or cleaning comes with the (g) photographs and a written explanation of the cost, unless deductions for repairs and cleaning total $125 or less or the tenant validly waived, (h)(4). A tenant can still request the documents within 14 days, (h)(5). They may be sent by mail, email, flash drive or an online link. 1950.5(h)(2)(D) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Civil Code section 1950.5). Read on leginfo 2026-10-22.

Other rules worth knowing

From April 1, 2025, a service member charged higher security than standard must get a written explanation, and the extra comes back after no more than six months if rent is current, 1950.5(c)(4).
A good-faith estimate may be deducted if repairs cannot be finished, or documents are not in hand, within 21 days, 1950.5(h)(3).
A lease may not call any security "nonrefundable," 1950.5(n).
Bad-faith retention can bring statutory damages of up to twice the deposit plus actual damages, 1950.5(m). A landlord who fails in bad faith to follow (h) cannot claim any of the deposit, (h)(7).
Local ordinances can add rules. This page covers state law only.

The statute has more detail on timing, electronic returns, initial inspections and what a landlord may deduct. See the California Courts self-help housing pages (courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-housing.htm) for plain-language guidance.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum security deposit in California?

For security collected on or after July 1, 2024, the cap is one month's rent, furnished or unfurnished. A qualifying small landlord may take up to two months' rent, unless the tenant is a service member. Security collected before that date was capped at two months' rent unfurnished and three months' rent furnished.

Who counts as a small landlord under AB 12?

A natural person, or a limited liability company whose members are all natural persons, who owns no more than two residential rental properties that together include no more than four dwelling units offered for rent. Natural person includes a settlor or beneficiary of a family trust as the statute defines it.

How fast must a landlord return the deposit?

No later than 21 calendar days after the tenant has vacated, the landlord must send an itemized statement of the deposit and its disposition, and return any remainder. Receipts or invoices and photographs go with a deduction, unless deductions for repairs and cleaning total $125 or less or the tenant validly waived, and a tenant can still request documents within 14 days.

Does the cap include the first month's rent?

No. The cap is in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy. A pet or cleaning deposit, or prepaid last month's rent, is likely security under 1950.5(b) and counts toward the cap. Screening fees under section 1950.6 are carved out.