If your landlord is sitting on your deposit, Louisiana law gives you a hard deadline and a real penalty — and a properly cited demand letter is how you invoke both. Here is exactly what La. R.S. 9:3251–3253 requires.
Louisiana's deposit rules at a glance
| Return deadline | Refund within one month of termination, with a written itemized statement of reasons for any retention (R.S. 9:3251(A)) |
| The penalty | Willful failure: the withheld amount plus the greater of $300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained (R.S. 9:3252); costs and attorney's fees available (R.S. 9:3253) |
One month, with a real itemization
Under La. R.S. 9:3251(A), your landlord (lessor) must return your deposit within one month of the lease's termination, retaining only what's needed to remedy your defaults — and any retention requires a written, itemized statement of the reasons. Louisiana courts demand specificity: a vague 'cleaning and damages' line, or an oral explanation, doesn't satisfy the statute and itself supports the willfulness finding that triggers penalties.
Your letter is the statutory trigger
R.S. 9:3252 contains the sentence that makes the demand letter the whole game in Louisiana: 'Failure to remit within thirty days after written demand for a refund shall constitute willful failure.' Willful failure entitles you to the wrongfully retained amount plus the greater of $300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained. Send the written demand, wait thirty days, and the statute itself supplies the bad-faith element most states make tenants prove.
Penalties got teeth in 2019
Before 2019 the penalty was a token $200. The amended R.S. 9:3252 — greater of $300 or double the wrongfully retained amount, on top of the refund itself — applies to all leases, and R.S. 9:3253 lets courts award costs and attorney's fees to the prevailing party. A $1,400 deposit wrongfully retained is now a $4,200-plus-fees problem for a landlord who ignores your demand.
Where to enforce
Suit lies in the parish of the lessor's domicile or where the property sits, and small claims or city court handles typical deposit amounts without a lawyer. The letter should state the amount, the move-out date, the missing or defective itemization, cite R.S. 9:3251–3253, and date-stamp the 30-day willfulness clock it just started.
What a strong Louisiana demand letter looks like
It states the deposit amount, the move-out date, the statutory deadline that passed, and the penalty exposure in dollars — citing La. R.S. 9:3251–3253 by name. Here's how the opening of a strong one reads:
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This guide is general information about Louisiana law, not legal advice. Statutes are paraphrased; verify current law for your situation. For significant or contested claims, consult a licensed Louisiana attorney.
Already hearing from a collection agency?
Landlords hand move-out balances to a small set of specialist collectors. If the letter is from National Credit Systems, Hunter Warfield, IQ Data International, or Source RM, we have a company-specific response guide for each — and the demand letter on this page still applies, because a landlord who missed the statutory deadline may owe you money regardless of who is calling. Any other collector: see the collection agency index and your state’s rules in the debt statute of limitations guide.