Home › Deposit letters › North Carolina › Build
See the whole letter free — your deadline, the days late, and the statutory exposure as possible — before you pay anything.
The letter cites N.C.G.S. §§ 42-51, 42-52, 42-55 and states the date your landlord’s deadline passed — 30 calendar days after the later of the date the tenancy ended and the date you returned possession.
One-time payment · No subscription · Secure checkout by Creem, the merchant of record. Refund within 7 days if the letter is generated with an error.
The full letter with your facts, the North Carolina deadline, the deposit table and the statute quoted — watermarked. You only pay to remove the watermark and get the PDF.
Rule applied: 30 calendar days after the later of the date the tenancy ended and the date you returned possession, per N.C.G.S. §§ 42-51, 42-52, 42-55.
Before you pay: the full letter is shown free in the preview, watermarked. You only pay to remove the watermark and get the PDF.
This tool produces a self-help document. It is not legal advice, no attorney-client relationship is created, and no outcome is guaranteed. If your claim is large or disputed, speak to a landlord-tenant lawyer or legal aid.
This is a real letter, produced by the same engine that makes the PDF, with a fictional tenant and landlord and North Carolina’s actual rule. Read it before you pay for anything — it is exactly what you would receive.
November 4, 2026
VIA CERTIFIED MAIL — RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Dear Property Manager:
I rented the premises at 77 Rented Avenue, Springfield from you. My tenancy ended and I moved out on August 26, 2026. I paid a security deposit of $2,400.00.
You have returned $700.00 of that deposit. $1,700.00 remains unreturned.
Under N.C.G.S. §§ 42-51, 42-52, 42-55, you were required to return the deposit and an itemized statement of any deductions no later than September 25, 2026 — 30 calendar days after the later of the date the tenancy ended and the date you returned possession. That date passed 40 days ago, and I have received no payment of the balance.
You did not give me a written, itemized statement of the deductions you are keeping, although N.C.G.S. §§ 42-51, 42-52, 42-55 requires one.
The deposit I paid was $2,400.00. You returned $700.00. The balance I am asking you to return is $1,700.00.
The rule that applies is N.C.G.S. §§ 42-51, 42-52, 42-55. The state's official source for it is listed for this state on locafact.com, and the fragments below are quoted from the statute text captured for this letter.
The statute describes the deductions a landlord may make as follows: The landlord must itemize any damage in writing and mail or deliver the itemization with the balance of the deposit no later than 30 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession; if the claim cannot be determined within 30 days the landlord must give an interim accounting within 30 days and a final accounting within 60 days; nothing may be withheld for normal wear and tear and the landlord may not retain more than actual damages.
The deadline is measured in calendar days: 30 calendar days after the later of the date the tenancy ended and the date you returned possession, which for the dates above is September 25, 2026.
“In either case the landlord in writing shall itemize any damage and mail or deliver same to the tenant, together with the balance of the security deposit, no later than 30 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession of the premises to the landlord.”
“If the extent of the landlord's claim against the security deposit cannot be determined within 30 days, the landlord shall provide the tenant with an interim accounting no later than 30 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession of the premises to the landlord and shall provide a final accounting within 60 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession of the premises to the landlord.”
“The landlord may not withhold as damages part of the security deposit for conditions that are due to normal wear and tear nor may the landlord retain an amount from the security deposit which exceeds his actual damages.”
“The willful failure of a landlord to comply with the deposit, bond, or notice requirements of this Article shall void the landlord's right to retain any portion of the tenant's security deposit as otherwise permitted under G.S. 42-51.”
“the court may award attorney's fees to be taxed as part of the costs of court”
Because if the failure was willful, N.C.G.S. §§ 42-51, 42-52, 42-55 also says: the landlord forfeits any right to retain any portion of the deposit; the landlord forfeits the right to impose a claim on the deposit; damages resulting from the noncompliance may also be recoverable; attorney’s fees are in the court’s discretion.
This letter does not state a separate dollar amount for those consequences. The amount demanded above is the unreturned balance, and I reserve every right and remedy the statute provides.
Please pay me $1,700.00 within ten (10) days of the date of this letter.
A check payable to me can be sent to the address at the top of this letter. If you believe some part of the deposit was properly kept, send me an itemized statement with the receipts or invoices for each amount.
If I do not receive payment or a written response within that time, I will consider filing a claim in small claims court for the unreturned deposit and any amount the statute allows, and I will keep this letter and the certified-mail record as evidence.
This is a self-help document, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.
The deadline from your dates and the state rule (30 calendar days after the later of the date the tenancy ended and the date you returned possession), the days late, the unreturned balance, and — where the statute has a verified penalty — the possible exposure above that balance.
Yes. The whole letter is shown watermarked, free. You pay only to download the clean PDF.
No. It is a self-help document tool, not a law firm. No outcome is guaranteed.