Free Connecticut Security Deposit Itemization Form

A Connecticut Security Deposit Itemization is the written statement of deductions a landlord must prepare when keeping any part of a tenant’s security deposit at the end of a tenancy. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 47a-21(d)(2), the landlord must deliver, within the statutory window, the balance of the deposit and accrued interest together with a written statement itemizing the nature and amount of every deduction. This page explains the itemization law, then generates a ready-to-sign itemized deduction statement that does the deposit math for you.

Generate Your Connecticut Security Deposit Itemization Statement

Complete the fields below to produce a state-compliant itemized deduction statement you can print, sign, and deliver with the refund. Enter the original deposit and any accrued interest, itemize each deduction with a specific description, and the generator adds the deposit plus interest, subtracts the total deductions, and prints the refund balance automatically. If deductions exceed the deposit, the statement shows the balance the tenant still owes instead of a refund. For the cover letter that accompanies this schedule, use the Connecticut security deposit return letter; for the underlying rules, see the Connecticut security deposit laws guide.

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Connecticut Security Deposit Itemization — Step by Step

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Covers Sec. 47a-21, the twenty-one-day deadline, itemizing deductions, wear-and-tear, annual interest, and the double-damages penalty.

How the Connecticut Deposit Itemization Law Works

Connecticut’s security deposit rules live in a single detailed statute, Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 47a-21, enforced by the Connecticut Department of Banking. The statute treats the deposit as the tenant’s money held in trust: the landlord must keep it in an escrow account, pay annual interest on it, and account for every dollar in writing when the tenancy ends. The itemized deduction statement is the document that closes the loop — it lists every charge the landlord takes against the deposit, proves each deduction was for actual damage and not ordinary wear, and computes the exact refund the tenant is owed.

The itemization requirement is triggered whenever the landlord keeps any part of the deposit. Under Sec. 47a-21(d)(2), the landlord must deliver, within the statutory window, either the full deposit plus accrued interest, or the balance of the deposit and interest after deduction for damages, together with a written statement itemizing the nature and amount of those damages. A refund that arrives without the written itemization — even a generous one — is itself a violation of the return provision. So is an itemization that arrives after the deadline. The Connecticut landlord-tenant laws overview puts this duty alongside the other end-of-tenancy obligations, and the Connecticut security deposit laws guide walks the full statute.

The single most important number is the deadline. Under Sec. 47a-21(d)(2), the landlord must deliver the balance and the itemized statement within twenty-one days after termination of the tenancy or fifteen days after receiving the tenant’s written forwarding address, whichever is later. Public Act 23-207, effective October 1, 2023, shortened the older thirty-day window to twenty-one days, so any landlord relying on a form or a blog that still says thirty days is now working from a repealed number and risks blowing the deadline.

Statutory Detail: What Sec. 47a-21 Requires

The Written Itemized Statement Under Sec. 47a-21(d)(2)

When the landlord keeps any part of the deposit, Sec. 47a-21(d)(2) requires a written statement itemizing the nature and amount of each deduction, delivered together with whatever balance is refunded. “Nature and amount” is the operative phrase: the statement must say what the deduction is for and how much it is. A line reading only “cleaning — two hundred fifty dollars” states an amount but not a defensible nature; “professional carpet cleaning to remove pet urine staining, living room, invoice attached — two hundred fifty dollars” states both. The statement this page generates builds that itemized accounting automatically, one line per deduction, and totals them against the deposit.

The Deposit Cap Under Sec. 47a-21(b)

A landlord may not require a security deposit greater than two months’ rent. If the tenant is sixty-two years of age or older, the cap is reduced to one month’s rent, and a landlord holding more than one month’s rent for such a tenant must return the excess on demand. The cap matters at itemization time because the deposit the landlord is accounting for should never have exceeded the statutory limit; an over-collected deposit is refundable regardless of any damage claim, so the itemization starts from the lawful deposit figure, not an inflated one.

Annual Interest Under Sec. 47a-21(i)

The landlord must pay interest on the deposit at the rate the Connecticut Banking Commissioner sets each year — the statewide deposit index published under Sec. 36a-26. For calendar year 2026 the deposit index, and therefore the rental security deposit interest rate, is 0.49 percent. Interest is credited annually on the anniversary of the tenancy and is paid to the tenant either each year or as a lump sum when the deposit is returned. On the itemization, the accrued interest is added to the original deposit before deductions are subtracted, so a landlord who forgets it understates the tenant’s balance. Because the rate changes annually, always confirm the current-year figure on the Department of Banking deposit-index page before you compute the accrued interest you enter above. In a multi-year tenancy, the accrued interest is the cumulative total across each year at that year’s rate, not a single year’s figure.

The Double-Damages Remedy Under Sec. 47a-21(d)(2)

A landlord who violates the return provision is liable for twice the amount of the security deposit paid by the tenant. This is a statutory penalty, and Connecticut does not require the tenant to prove willfulness or bad faith to recover it, which sets the state apart from the many jurisdictions that reserve double or treble damages for bad-faith withholding. A defective itemization — missing, late, or so vague that it fails to state the nature and amount — can be treated as a violation of the return provision and expose the landlord to twice the whole deposit, not merely twice the disputed line. If the only violation is failure to pay the accrued interest, the landlord is liable instead for ten dollars or twice the accrued interest, whichever is greater — a smaller but still real measure of statutory damages.

Itemization Versus Return Letter: Two Documents, One Package

Landlords often ask whether the itemization and the return letter are the same thing. They are two parts of the same compliance package, and keeping them straight avoids a common filing mistake. The itemized deduction statement — the document this page builds — is the accounting schedule: it lists each deduction by nature and amount, adds the deposit and interest, subtracts the deductions, and shows the refund or the balance owed. The return letter is the cover letter the landlord signs and mails, addressed to the tenant, that transmits the refund check and attaches the itemization.

In practice, many Connecticut landlords deliver a single envelope containing the signed return letter, the itemized statement, the refund check, and copies of the supporting receipts and photographs. That single delivery satisfies both the “deliver the balance” and the “written statement itemizing the nature and amount” requirements of Sec. 47a-21(d)(2) at once. If you want the matching cover letter for this schedule, generate it with the Connecticut security deposit return letter form; the two forms share the same figures, so fill the deposit, interest, and deductions the same way on both. Where the itemization is the “what and how much,” the return letter is the “here it is, signed and dated.”

Party Rights and Remedies

The statute balances duties on both sides. The landlord’s rights include deducting for unpaid rent and for damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, provided each deduction is itemized in writing and supported by documentation. The tenant’s rights include timely return of the balance plus interest, a written accounting stating the nature and amount of each deduction, and the double-damages remedy when the landlord violates the return provision.

A tenant who does not receive a compliant itemized statement within the statutory window may bring a small-claims action for twice the deposit. The landlord’s best defense is a clean paper trail: a signed lease, a dated move-in and move-out inspection record, before-and-after photographs, receipts or written estimates for every repair, and proof of certified-mail delivery within the deadline. The itemization is the centerpiece of that defense because it is the document that ties each dollar to a described, documented item of damage. Landlords who screen carefully at the application stage tend to reach move-out with far fewer disputed deductions in the first place — the tenant background check process surfaces the payment and eviction history that predict a costly, contested move-out before the lease is ever signed.

Counting the Deadline Correctly

Because the deadline is the later of two clocks, the safest practice is to compute both dates the moment the tenancy ends and diary the later one. The first clock starts on the termination of the tenancy and runs twenty-one days. The second clock starts only when the landlord receives the tenant’s written forwarding address and runs fifteen days. If the tenant hands over a forwarding address at move-out, the twenty-one-day clock almost always controls. But if the tenant leaves without a forwarding address and mails one twelve days later, the fifteen-day clock can push the true deadline past the twenty-one-day mark, and the itemized statement is timely as long as it is delivered by the later date.

The statute measures delivery, not mailing, in practical terms: the tenant must actually receive the balance and the itemized statement by the deadline. That is why certified mail matters — it timestamps delivery. Sending the itemization to the last known address when no forwarding address was ever provided is permitted, but the landlord should document the attempt. When the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, do not rely on an informal grace period; deliver early. A landlord who misreads the trigger date — or who relies on the repealed thirty-day figure — is the most common defendant in a Connecticut deposit double-damages claim.

Building a Defensible Itemized Statement, Line by Line

An itemization survives a challenge when each line answers three questions: what was damaged, why the charge was necessary, and what proof supports the amount. Walk the unit against the move-in checklist and photograph every item you intend to charge, then write each deduction as a full sentence rather than a category. “Repairs” is a category; “replace bedroom door damaged by forced entry, contractor invoice #4471 attached — one hundred eighty dollars” is a line item a small-claims magistrate can uphold.

Group related charges but keep them separate on the statement so the tenant can see the arithmetic. Attach a receipt for completed work or a written estimate for work not yet performed; Connecticut landlords are not required to have already spent the money, but they must be able to substantiate the amount. Where a deduction covers unpaid rent rather than damage, label it as unpaid rent for a stated period, because rent and damage are treated differently and a tenant is entitled to see which is which. Round to the actual documented figure rather than a tidy estimate; a suspiciously round number invites the tenant to demand the underlying receipt. Finally, total the deductions on the statement, subtract them from the deposit plus interest, and state the resulting refund or balance in plain dollars — which is exactly what the generator above does when you enter each line.

Computing the Accrued Interest for the Itemization

The accrued-interest line is where careful landlords and careless ones part ways, because Sec. 47a-21(i) does not let the landlord skip it. Interest runs from the start of the tenancy and is credited on the anniversary date each year at that calendar year’s deposit index. On the itemization, the accrued interest is added to the original deposit before any deduction is subtracted, so an omitted or understated interest line lowers the tenant’s balance and, standing alone, is a violation carrying its own penalty of ten dollars or twice the accrued interest, whichever is greater.

A worked example makes the mechanics concrete. Suppose a tenant paid a deposit of one thousand five hundred dollars and stayed two full years, and suppose the deposit index was fixed at roughly one-half of 1% for each of those years. The first year’s interest is one thousand five hundred dollars multiplied by the annual rate, which at one-half of 1% is about seven dollars and fifty cents. The second year accrues on the same principal, adding roughly another seven dollars and fifty cents, for a cumulative accrued interest of about fifteen dollars carried onto the itemization. The landlord adds that cumulative interest to the one thousand five hundred dollar deposit, then subtracts the total itemized deductions, and the remainder is the refund. If the deposit index changes from one year to the next, the landlord applies each year’s published rate to that year’s accrual rather than averaging, because the statute ties the rate to the index in effect for the calendar year. Because the rate is small, the dollars are small — but the omission, not the amount, is what a small-claims magistrate penalizes, so the line belongs on every itemization even when it rounds to a few dollars.

The Connecticut Department of Banking publishes an interest calculation table each year that landlords can use to confirm the accrued figure, and the deposit index for the current calendar year is the anchor number to verify before you fill in the accrued-interest field above. When a tenancy spans a partial year — for example, a tenant who moves out three months into a lease year — the prudent approach is to credit interest through the anniversary already reached and to treat any additional partial-year accrual conservatively in the tenant’s favor, since erring high on interest costs the landlord a few dollars while erring low invites a statutory-damages claim. Keeping a simple running ledger of the deposit, each anniversary date, and the rate applied turns the accrued-interest computation into a lookup rather than a reconstruction at move-out.

A Category-by-Category Guide to Connecticut Deductions

Most itemization disputes turn on whether a particular charge is a permissible deduction for damage or an impermissible charge for ordinary wear and tear. Connecticut allows deductions only for damages the landlord suffered by reason of the tenant’s failure to comply with the tenant’s obligations, plus unpaid rent. Walking the common categories helps a landlord decide what belongs on the statement.

Paint and Walls

Repainting to cover ordinary fading, minor scuffs, and small nail or pin holes from hanging pictures is not deductible; that deterioration is the expected result of someone living in the unit. Repainting becomes deductible when the tenant painted the walls a non-neutral color without permission, gouged or punched holes that require patching beyond spackle, or left smoke or grease staining that a normal cleaning cannot remove. The itemization line should describe the specific wall condition and, ideally, reference the move-in photograph that shows the wall was sound at the start.

Carpet and Flooring

Thinning and matting of carpet along walking paths, and the gradual dulling of a hardwood finish, are wear and tear. Pet urine saturation, burns, large stains that survive professional cleaning, and gouges or water damage to flooring are damage. Connecticut landlords should account for the useful life of carpet: charging a departing tenant the full replacement cost of a carpet that was already several years into its useful life at move-in overstates the deduction, and a tenant can challenge the amount as a betterment rather than a repair. The defensible line prorates or documents the actual out-of-pocket repair.

Cleaning

A unit must be returned in the condition it was received, less ordinary wear. Routine cleaning to ready the unit for the next tenant is generally a cost of turnover, not a deductible charge, unless the tenant left the unit in a condition materially dirtier than move-in — grease-caked appliances, biohazard conditions, or removal of abandoned belongings and trash. The itemization should describe the specific condition and attach the cleaning invoice; “cleaning” as a bare category is the single most frequently disallowed line in Connecticut small-claims sessions.

Fixtures, Appliances, and Keys

Broken fixtures, missing or damaged appliances, unreturned keys or remotes, and removed smoke or carbon-monoxide detectors are deductible at the documented cost to repair or replace. As with flooring, replacement of an aged appliance should reflect its depreciated value rather than the price of a brand-new unit. Unreturned keys justify a re-keying charge supported by a locksmith invoice.

Unpaid Rent and Utilities

Unpaid rent for the period the tenant occupied or was obligated on the unit is a permissible deduction, as are unpaid utility charges the lease made the tenant’s responsibility. These lines should be labeled distinctly as rent or utilities rather than lumped with damage, because a magistrate reviewing the statement treats a rent shortfall differently from a repair, and the tenant is entitled to see which is which. Late fees and other contractual charges are deductible only to the extent the lease and Connecticut law actually authorize them.

What a Connecticut Deposit Dispute Actually Looks Like

When a tenant believes a de