Louisiana Security Deposit Demand Letter

It is a written demand a Louisiana tenant sends a former landlord to recover a security deposit the landlord did not return within one month after the lease terminated, as La. R.S. 9:3251(A) requires. In Louisiana the letter does more than ask: a failure to remit within thirty days after the tenant's written demand for a refund is a willful failure that entitles the tenant to the greater of $300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained under La. R.S. 9:3252(A). The letter states the amount owed, disputes any improper retention, and demands payment.

A Louisiana security deposit demand letter is an informal written request that costs nothing to send and asks the landlord to pay before any case is filed. A deposit claim can be brought in the small claims division, where the amount in dispute may not exceed $5,000, exclusive of interest, court costs, attorney fees, or penalties (La. R.S. 13:5202). The demand letter matters even more here because, under La. R.S. 9:3252(A), it is the written demand that starts the thirty-day clock whose expiry makes a landlord's failure willful.

In Louisiana the landlord must return the deposit within one month after the lease terminates, provided the tenant furnishes a forwarding address at the termination of the lease (La. R.S. 9:3251(A)). If the landlord keeps any part of it, the landlord must send an itemized statement of the retained proceeds and the reasons within one month, or within fifteen days after the date that is one month after the tenancy terminates. If those windows pass with no deposit and no proper statement, a written demand is the usual next step.

Under La. R.S. 9:3252(A), the willful failure to comply with R.S. 9:3251 gives a Louisiana tenant the right to recover the portion of the deposit wrongfully retained plus the greater of three hundred dollars or twice the amount wrongfully retained. Willful failure is defined by the statute: a failure to remit within thirty days after the tenant's written demand for a refund. That is why a dated written demand is central in Louisiana, it converts an ordinary withholding into a willful one that carries the statutory penalty.

A Louisiana landlord may retain deposit proceeds to remedy a default of the tenant arising under the lease, such as unpaid rent or damages, but only if the landlord forwards the tenant an itemized statement accounting for the proceeds retained and giving the reasons (La. R.S. 9:3251(A)). A retention without that itemized statement, or for amounts the landlord cannot justify as a lease default, can be disputed in your demand letter.

Yes. If a Louisiana lessor retains any portion of the deposit, the lessor must forward the tenant an itemized statement accounting for the proceeds retained and giving the reasons, within one month after the tenancy terminates or within fifteen days after the date that is one month after the tenancy terminates (La. R.S. 9:3251(A)). A missing or unjustified itemized statement is a failure to comply with R.S. 9:3251 that, once willful, supports the penalty under R.S. 9:3252(A).

A Louisiana deposit claim can be brought in the small claims division, where the amount in dispute may not exceed $5,000, exclusive of interest, court costs, attorney fees, or penalties (La. R.S. 13:5202). A claim can include the portion of the deposit wrongfully retained plus, for a willful failure to comply with R.S. 9:3251, the greater of $300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained under La. R.S. 9:3252(A). Sending your written demand first is what makes a continued withholding willful.