Getting the Deposit Back
La. R.S. 9:3251 — the deposit comes back within one month of the lease ending, with an itemized statement for anything kept
One month. A deposit on a residential lease is returned within one month after the lease terminates. The landlord may keep what is reasonably necessary to remedy the tenant's default or unreasonable wear, and sends an itemized statement of what was kept and why.
- The tenant gives the landlord a forwarding address when the lease ends, so the statement has somewhere to go.
- The rule does not apply when the tenant abandons the home without the required notice or before the lease ends.
- If the building is sold during the lease, the deposit passes to the buyer, who returns it at the end.
- Any waiver of these rights in a lease is null and void.
A willful failure to comply lets the tenant recover what was wrongfully kept plus $300 or twice the amount wrongfully kept, whichever is greater. Not paying within 30 days after a written demand for the refund counts as willful, and the court may award costs and attorney's fees to whoever wins.
The tenant returns the home in the condition it was in at the start, except for normal wear and tear.
Sources for this section (5)
- La. R.S. 9:3251 — Lessee's deposit to secure lease; retention by lessor; conveyance of leased premises; itemized statement by lessor
- La. R.S. 9:3252 — Failure of lessor to comply; recovery of amounts by lessee; venue
- La. R.S. 9:3253 — Costs and attorney's fees
- La. R.S. 9:3254 — Waiver of tenant's rights prohibited
- La. C.C. art. 2683 — The lessee's principal obligations
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Louisiana attorney.