August 31, 2024 - Sacramento, CA –Security deposits can be expensive and take extended periods of time to save for. For most renters, getting them back feels a little bit like playing the lotto or taking a trip to Las Vegas. Renters expect to lose it all, but if they walk away with anything, that’s a win. But for renters, that gamble can be debilitating. That lost income isn’t easy to replace and can frequently be a barrier to moving into a new apartment or finally saving enough money for a down payment on a home.
Enter AB 2801, proposed by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank), mandates that renters, so long as the premises they’re vacating is as clean as it was upon move-in, get their deposit back–in full. A wildly popular bill, AB 2801 passed the California Legislature today with a resounding vote of 52-16. “Whether or not you get your security deposit back or how little or how much of it will be returned, shouldn’t be one of the great mysteries of the universe,” said Assemblymember Friedman.