About

A free tool that helps a landlord return a security deposit correctly, with the law to back it up.

Who it's for

Small and do-it-yourself landlords who manage their own rentals and don't have a property manager or a lawyer on call for a routine deposit return. If you just had a tenant move out and you're trying to do this right, this is for you.

Why it exists

Returning a deposit sounds simple, but every state sets a hard deadline, limits what you can deduct, and adds real penalties for getting it wrong: in Texas, a landlord who acts in bad faith can owe the tenant $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus their attorney's fees; in California, a court can add up to twice the deposit on top of actual damages; in Florida, a landlord who misses the 30-day claim-notice deadline forfeits the entire claim and must return the deposit, and the prevailing party in a deposit dispute recovers attorney fees either way. The rules are scattered across the statutes and buried in blog posts. This puts the deadline, the deduction rules, and a ready-to-send itemized letter in one place, each tied to the section of the statute it comes from.

Who builds it

Deposit Record is built and maintained by Orygn LLC, a Texas software company founded by Daniel Okwor. We are not a law firm and not your attorney, and using the tool creates no attorney-client relationship. It is general information that cites the statute, not legal advice. The full terms are in our Terms of Use, and exactly how we handle data (short version: it stays in your browser) is in our Privacy Policy.

How it stays free

The tool is free and always will be. We plan to earn a little from clearly labeled links to services landlords already use, like landlord insurance and banking. Those never change the law we show you, and the core tool is never paywalled.

Found a mistake?

Accuracy is the product, so if you think a rule is wrong or out of date, we want to hear it. Read how we verify the law, or get in touch at security@orygn.tech.

Open the Texas tool Open the California tool Open the Florida tool