Arizona Security Deposit Return: The 14-Day Clock Explained

An Arizona landlord has "fourteen days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays or other legal holidays" to send the tenant an itemized list of deductions and any money due, under A.R.S. 33-1321(D). The clock does not start at move-out alone: it starts once the tenancy has terminated, possession has been delivered and the tenant has demanded the money. If the landlord does not comply, subsection (E) allows the tenant to recover the money due plus damages of twice the amount wrongfully withheld.

The three triggers

Subsection (D) counts the fourteen days "after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant". On the plain reading, the clock starts on the last of these three events:

1. Termination of the tenancy. Lease expiry, a notice taking effect, or another ground. This article does not cover how tenancies end.
2. Delivery of possession. A.R.S. 33-1310(3) defines it as "returning dwelling unit keys to the landlord and vacating the premises". Both halves are required.
3. Demand by the tenant. The text does not say the demand must be in writing or what it must contain. Our suggestion: ask for a dated written demand, with a forwarding address, at the move-out inspection.

Counting the fourteen days

Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays do not count. The Act does not list the legal holidays and does not say whether day 1 is the trigger date or the day after. We count the next weekday as day 1; ask the court clerk or an Arizona attorney which days are legal holidays. This counting rule belongs to subsection (D) only: other sections of the Act state their own day counts, so do not carry it over.

Examples 1 and 2 assume no weekday in the window is a legal holiday; check your own window. Dates were computed with a script.

What to send, and how

• Content. "an itemized list of all deductions together with the amount due and payable to the tenant, if any".
• What the deposit may cover. Subject to "a landlord's duty to mitigate", "all charges as specified in the signed lease agreement, or as provided in this chapter", including damages from the tenant's noncompliance with A.R.S. 33-1341.
• Delivery. By first class mail to "the tenant's last known place of residence", unless the tenant makes other arrangements in writing.

The text says the landlord must "provide" the list within the fourteen days and separately says to mail it. It does not say whether the mailing date or the arrival date meets the deadline, so mail well before the computed date and keep proof of the date.

Fill-in list (our template; the statute lists the contents, not the wording):

ITEMIZED LIST OF DEDUCTIONS FROM SECURITY DEPOSIT
Rental address: ______________________
Tenant(s): ______________________
Tenancy ended: ________  Keys returned and unit vacated: ________
Tenant's demand received: ________
Deposit and prepaid rent held: $________

Deductions
1. Unpaid rent, period ________ .......... $________
2. Charge under lease clause ____ (describe) .......... $________
3. Damage: item, location, repair cost (attach invoice/photos;
   compare the move-in form) .......... $________
Total deductions: $________

Amount due to tenant: $________ (enclosed, check no. ______)
Mailed first class on ________ to ______________________
Landlord signature: ______________  Date: ________

After you mail: the sixty days

If the tenant does not dispute the deductions or the amount due within sixty days after mailing "as prescribed by this subsection", the list is "deemed valid and final" and further claims of the tenant are waived. Read plainly, the sixty days start only from a mailing that follows subsection (D), so a late or misaddressed mailing is a weak starting point. The text does not say how a dispute must be made or whether the sixty days are calendar days; the sentence that excludes weekends is the fourteen-day one, so the table shows plain calendar days.

If the fourteen days are missed

Subsection (E) lets the tenant recover the money due "together with damages in an amount equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld". Example: $1,800 deposit, no list sent. On the plain reading the tenant may recover the $1,800 plus $3,600 in damages, $5,400 in all. The text does not define "wrongfully withheld" or say how a claim is filed; a court decides, and filing steps are outside the statute text, so ask the justice court clerk. Subsection (F) preserves other damages either side may be entitled to under the Act.

Common mistakes

• Starting the count at move-out when the tenant's demand came later, or counting Saturdays and Sundays.
• Mailing only to the rental unit after the tenant gave a new address in writing.
• Sending a check with no itemized list.
• Treating an abandoned unit like an ordinary move-out. A.R.S. 33-1370(B) has its own sentence on deposit money after the landlord retakes an abandoned unit; read it first.
• Deducting an early-termination charge from a tenant who left under A.R.S. 33-1318 (domestic violence or sexual assault). Subsection (D) there says the landlord shall not withhold the deposit for early termination if the tenant meets the requirements, though damages under 33-1341 may still be withheld.
• Forgetting who is bound: subsection (H) binds the holder of the landlord's interest when the tenancy terminates, which matters if the property changed hands during the tenancy.

See an Arizona attorney if the tenant disputes the list, if holiday counting matters to the result, or if a double-damages claim arrives.

Checked against the text published on azleg.gov on 5 October 2026.

Sources

• A.R.S. 33-1321 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1310 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1341 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1370 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1318 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes

Related guides

• Maximum Security Deposit in Arizona: 1.5 Months of Rent
• Arizona 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit (A.R.S. 33-1368(B))
• Arizona 10-Day Notice to Cure a Lease Violation (A.R.S. 33-1368(A))
• Arizona Eviction Process: Special Detainer Steps and Deadlines
• Can a Tenant Stop an Arizona Eviction by Paying Rent? (33-1368)
• Arizona Landlord Entry Notice Rules Under A.R.S. 33-1343
• Arizona Landlord Failed to Repair: Tenant Remedies and Deadlines
• Arizona Late Fee Law for Landlords: What the Statute Says
• Arizona Month-to-Month Notice and Rent Increase Rules
• Arizona Abandoned Tenant Property: Landlord Rules, A.R.S. 33-1370
• Arizona Landlord Retaliation Rules Under A.R.S. 33-1381

Informational only, not legal advice. Statute text checked against the Arizona Revised Statutes (Title 33, Chapter 10 and Title 12, Chapter 8, Article 4) as published at azleg.gov on October 5, 2026. Statutes change every legislative session and a court may read them differently than a summary does; for a dispute, an eviction or anything expensive to get wrong, talk to an Arizona landlord-tenant attorney.