AB 414: California now requires electronic security deposit refunds.
California's Assembly Bill 414, effective in 2026, closes a gap in the state's security deposit law that landlords had been quietly exploiting for years: paying you back with a paper check sent to the wrong address. Under AB 414, if you paid rent or your deposit electronically at any point during the tenancy, the landlord must refund electronically too.
What AB 414 actually requires
AB 414 amends California Civil Code section 1950.5 to add a delivery requirement on top of the existing 21-day return deadline. The rule is straightforward: if the tenant paid rent or the security deposit electronically during the tenancy (any electronic method — ACH, Zelle, credit card, debit card, portal payment), the landlord must refund the deposit electronically. A paper check mailed to the forwarding address is no longer compliant when electronic payment was the norm.
The 21-day deadline under CCC 1950.5(g) still applies. AB 414 does not extend or change the window. It just modernizes the method of delivery.
Why this matters more than it sounds
"Mailed a check to your old address" was one of the most common landlord delay tactics in California. The check would eventually be returned undeliverable, by which point the tenant had moved on, the trail had cooled, and the deposit was effectively gone. AB 414 closes that loophole. If you paid electronically, the landlord knows the payment rails. They have to use them in reverse.
For tenants, the practical effect is that a paper-check "attempt" on a unit where rent was paid through a portal is now evidence of bad faith, not a defense to it. Combined with the existing 2× bad-faith penalty under CCC 1950.5(l), the cost of stalling has gone up.
What to do if your CA landlord violates AB 414
Document the payment history. If you paid rent through Zelle, ACH, a property management portal, or any other electronic method, save the receipts. Your demand letter should cite both CCC 1950.5(g) (the 21-day deadline) and AB 414 (the electronic refund requirement) and request the deposit returned through the same channel the landlord accepted payments on. If the landlord insists on a paper check after AB 414's effective date, that's additional evidence of non-compliance.
Rightful's California demand emails automatically detect AB 414 applicability based on the payment history you upload and cite it where relevant.
Common questions
Does AB 414 apply if I paid some rent by check and some by Zelle?
Yes. The statute requires only that the tenant paid rent or the security deposit electronically. A single electronic transaction during the tenancy triggers the electronic refund requirement.
Can the landlord ask me to opt out of electronic refund?
A tenant can affirmatively request paper-check refund, but it has to be the tenant's choice, not the landlord's preference. Anything that looks like a take-it-or-leave-it paper-check policy on a unit where electronic payments were accepted runs into AB 414's plain text.
What if the landlord claims they don't have my electronic payment details on file anymore?
Not a defense. The landlord can ask you to provide current electronic refund details (Zelle handle, ACH info, etc.). Most tenants are happy to provide them. The "lost the file" excuse doesn't extend the 21-day window.
Does AB 414 apply outside California?
No. AB 414 is a California-specific statute. New York and Texas have their own deposit return frameworks (see related guides).
Get a California demand email in 4 minutes
Free to draft. $49 to send. Statute-cited, AB 414-aware, line-item challenge per disputed deduction.