Tennessee Security Deposit Demand Letter
In Tennessee a landlord who does not hold your deposit properly and provide a listing of damages loses the right to keep any of it. If a refund notice goes unanswered for 60 days, the landlord may keep the deposit, so respond in writing. Attorney review available.
Introduction
A security deposit demand letter is a written demand a Tennessee tenant sends a former landlord to recover a security deposit that has not been returned, before filing suit. Tennessee does not set a single fixed return-in-so-many-days clock. Instead, under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301, the landlord must hold the deposit in a separate account, and any charge against the deposit must be based on a written listing of the damages. A landlord who did not keep the deposit in a proper account and did not provide a listing of damages is not entitled to retain any portion of the deposit. There is one deadline that runs against the tenant: when a tenant leaves owing no rent and a refund is due, the landlord must send notice of the refund to the tenant's last known address, and if the landlord receives no response from the tenant within 60 days, the landlord may remove and keep the deposit. That makes a prompt written demand important. Tennessee provides no two or three times statutory multiplier; a tenant who disputes the charges may sue in circuit or general sessions court, where the general sessions civil limit is $25,000 (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 16-15-501). DocDraft builds your Tennessee security deposit demand letter from your facts, with attorney review available before you send it.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A security deposit demand letter is a written demand a Tennessee tenant sends a former landlord to recover a deposit the landlord kept without meeting the state's account and listing rules, before filing suit.
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Tennessee does not set a single fixed return-in-so-many-days clock; the landlord's obligations run through the account, listing, and notice rules in Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301.
- 3
A landlord must hold the deposit in a separate account, and any charge against the deposit must be based on a written listing of the damages (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301).
- 4
A landlord who did not keep the deposit in a proper account and did not provide a listing of damages is not entitled to retain any portion of the deposit (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301).
- 5
When a tenant leaves owing no rent with a refund due, the landlord must send notice of the refund, and if the tenant does not respond within 60 days the landlord may keep the deposit, so respond in writing (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301).
- 6
Tennessee provides no two or three times statutory multiplier for wrongful withholding; a tenant who disputes the charges may sue in circuit or general sessions court (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301).
- 7
The general sessions civil limit, the small-claims-equivalent forum in Tennessee, is $25,000 (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 16-15-501).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Security Deposit Demand Letter in Tennessee, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Security Deposit Demand Letter guide walks through them.
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Tennessee Requirements for Security Deposit Demand Letter
When a tenant leaves owing no rent with a refund due, the landlord must send notice of the refund, and if the tenant does not respond within 60 days the landlord may keep the deposit (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301). A prompt written demand protects your claim within that window.
Tennessee does not set a single fixed return-in-so-many-days clock. The landlord's obligations run through the separate-account, written-listing, and refund-notice rules of Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301 rather than one return deadline.
A Tennessee landlord must hold the security deposit in a separate account used only for that purpose (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301). Failure to do so, combined with a missing damage listing, defeats the landlord's right to retain any part of the deposit.
Any charge against the deposit must be based on a written listing of the damages that are the basis for the charge, with the estimated cost of repair (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301). A charge not supported by that listing is open to challenge.
A landlord who did not keep the deposit in a proper account and did not provide a listing of damages is not entitled to retain any portion of the deposit (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301). Tennessee provides no two or three times statutory multiplier.
A Tennessee landlord may apply the deposit to unpaid rent or other amounts owing when the tenant vacates, and to presently ascertainable physical damage documented in the written listing (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301). Amounts outside these bases can be disputed.
Send the demand to the landlord's address using a trackable method such as certified mail with return receipt, and provide your forwarding address. Because an unanswered refund notice can ripen after 60 days, keep a copy of the letter and the delivery record.
A tenant may bring a deposit dispute in circuit or general sessions court (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301). General sessions, Tennessee's small-claims-equivalent forum, has a civil jurisdictional limit of $25,000 (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 16-15-501).
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a written demand a Tennessee tenant sends a former landlord to recover a security deposit the landlord kept without meeting the requirements of Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301. The letter states the amount owed, disputes the charges, and asks for payment by a set date. In Tennessee it also serves a second purpose: if the landlord sent notice of a refund due, a written response protects you, because a tenant who does not respond within 60 days can lose the deposit under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301.
A Tennessee 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 formal case is filed in circuit or general sessions court, and general sessions, Tennessee's small-claims-equivalent forum, has a civil limit of $25,000 (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 16-15-501). The demand letter often resolves the dispute, and if the landlord had sent a refund notice, your written demand also preserves your claim within the 60-day window under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301.
Tennessee does not set a single fixed return-in-so-many-days clock. Under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301, the landlord must hold the deposit in a separate account and base any charge on a written listing of damages. The deadline that runs is against the tenant: if the landlord sends notice of a refund due and the tenant does not respond within 60 days, the landlord may keep the deposit. So if you are owed a refund, respond in writing and send your demand promptly.
Tennessee provides no two or three times statutory multiplier. Instead, under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301, a landlord who did not keep the deposit in a proper account and did not provide a listing of damages is not entitled to retain any portion of the deposit. A tenant who disputes the charges may bring a civil action in circuit or general sessions court. Pointing out in your demand letter that the landlord forfeited the right to keep the deposit is often the strongest lever.
In Tennessee a landlord may apply the deposit to unpaid rent or other amounts owing when the tenant vacates, and to presently ascertainable physical damage to the unit that is the basis for a charge, documented in a written listing of damages (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301). A charge that is not supported by the required listing is open to challenge, and a landlord who never provided a listing is not entitled to keep any part of the deposit, which you can raise in your demand letter.
Yes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301, any charge against the deposit must be based on a written listing of the damages that are the basis for the charge, with the estimated cost of repair. A Tennessee landlord who keeps part of the deposit without providing that listing, and who also failed to hold the deposit in a proper account, is not entitled to retain any portion of it. A missing listing is a central point to raise in your demand letter.
A Tennessee tenant may bring a deposit dispute in circuit or general sessions court (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301). General sessions, Tennessee's small-claims-equivalent forum, has a civil jurisdictional limit of $25,000 (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 16-15-501). A deposit claim recovers the amounts actually due, since Tennessee has no two or three times multiplier. Sending your demand letter first and filing promptly is the practical approach.
A Tennessee demand letter should identify you and the landlord, give the rental address and the dates of the tenancy, state the deposit amount and your forwarding address, and make a clear written demand for the refund, which also protects you within the 60-day response window under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 66-28-301. It should dispute any charge not supported by a written listing of damages, note that a landlord who failed the account and listing rules cannot keep any of the deposit, state the amount owed, and demand payment by a specific date.