Walk It Through: Taking It to Small Claims
The ceiling, the forum, and the problem that starts after you win.
The tenancy ended two months ago. The deposit never came back.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
Each court sets its own forms, its own filing fee and its own scheduling, so the paperwork differs by county even though the chapter does not. A limitations period runs on the underlying claim and differs by what the claim is about, so a claim can be good and still be too late. Evictions are a different chapter and are not brought here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.