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.
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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.
- 2
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
Respond in Writing Within the 60-Day Window
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.
No Fixed Return-in-Days Clock
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.
Deposit Held in a Separate Account
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.
Written Listing of Damages Required
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.
Forfeiture of the Right to Retain, No Multiplier
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.
Permitted Application of the Deposit
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 With Proof of Delivery and a Forwarding Address
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.
General Sessions Limit
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).