Security deposit return deadline in Louisiana
A Louisiana landlord has one month after the lease ends to return a security deposit, and may send the itemized list of deductions up to 15 days after that.
- Deadline
- 1 month (itemized statement of deductions may come up to 15 days later)
- What the landlord must send
- If any part is kept, the landlord must send an itemized statement of what was kept and why, within one month after the tenancy ends or within 15 more days after that month.
- If the landlord gets it wrong
- Willful failure lets the tenant recover the amount wrongfully kept plus the greater of $300 or twice that amount; not paying within 30 days of a written demand counts as willful.
The tenant must give the landlord a forwarding address at the end of the lease.
The law
La. R.S. 9:3251, 9:3252. Read the statute.
Checked against the statute in October 2026. Laws change, so confirm the current rule before you rely on it.
What to do next
If the deadline has passed, or the landlord kept money without a proper list, put your request in writing. Ask for the deposit back by a specific date, and keep a copy. The free first letter in the Deposit Demand Letters kit does this for Louisiana, and the deadline calculator works out your exact date from your move-out day.
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
General information about Louisiana law, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Deposit Demand Letters is a self-help template kit from Kits For That.