The Deposit Accounting That Arrived on Day Thirty-Five
Nadia Okafor rented a two-bedroom apartment in Dover for two years at $1,850 per month under a written lease and paid a $2,400 security deposit by check in 2022. The landlord, Bramble Court Properties, never told her in writing where the deposit was held. Nadia reported a cracked window pane in the spare bedroom by email in March 2023 and received no response. She moved out on June 30, 2025, returned all keys, and left a written forwarding address both in the unit's mailbox and by email. The landlord inspected on July 8, 2025. On July 30 the landlord mailed an itemized statement listing $480 for patching nail holes and repainting the living room, $610 to replace the cracked window, $275 for carpet cleaning, and $150 for a missing mailbox key, and enclosed a check for $885. The envelope was postmarked July 31 and Nadia received it August 4. Nadia's move-out photographs show small nail holes from picture hooks and clean, unstained carpet.
1. Did the landlord's accounting satisfy the statutory thirty-day requirement? Analyze the timing and the method of delivery.
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Probably not, and the three-to-five-day gap is the whole case.
The requirement. New Hampshire's security deposit statute requires a landlord, within thirty days after the tenancy ends, to return the deposit with interest or to provide a written, itemized statement of damages and return the balance. Thirty days from June 30 runs to July 30.
The close question. The landlord placed the statement and check in the mail on July 30-the thirtieth day-but the envelope was postmarked July 31 and Nadia received it August 4. Whether the landlord complied turns on whether the statute is satisfied by mailing within the period or requires that the tenant receive the accounting within it. The tenant-favorable reading-and the one that protects the tenant who needs the money to secure new housing-is that the accounting must reach the tenant within thirty days, making this a violation. Confirm the current statutory language and any appellate gloss before filing, because the answer drives the remedy.
Separate defect: deposit account notice. The landlord apparently never gave written notice of where the deposit was held, which New Hampshire requires and which is an independent violation. That omission also weakens any claim that the delay was an innocent slip.
Advice to landlords: do not use day thirty as your deadline. Inspect within a week, mail by certified mail with return receipt, and hand-deliver a copy if you are close to the line.
2. Which of the four deductions are legally sustainable, and how should the burden be allocated?
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Only some, and the landlord bears the burden of justifying each line.
$480 - nail holes and repainting. Small holes from picture hooks are classic ordinary wear and tear, not damage. A two-year tenancy with normal hanging of pictures does not justify repainting at the tenant's expense, and repainting after two years may be chargeable only to the extent the lease specifically assigns that cost and the paint was otherwise in good condition. Likely unsustainable.
$610 - cracked window. This is the strongest tenant item. Nadia reported the crack in writing in March 2023 and the landlord did nothing. A landlord cannot charge a tenant for a condition the tenant documented and the landlord ignored, and the tenant's photographs and email create a clean record. Unsustainable absent proof she caused it after reporting.
$275 - carpet cleaning. Chargeable only if the lease expressly requires professional cleaning at move-out or the carpet is damaged beyond normal use. Clean, unstained carpet in the photographs defeats a damage theory. The lease language controls.
$150 - mailbox key. She returned all keys. If the mailbox key was part of the returned set, the charge fails; if a key genuinely was not returned, the landlord may charge the reasonable cost of replacement, not a flat penalty.
Allocation. The landlord must show actual damage and the reasonable cost of repair, not depreciated replacement value for worn items. Where a charge is unsupported, the deposit must be returned with interest.
3. What should Nadia file, where, and what relief should she seek?
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Forum. A security deposit claim is a residential landlord-tenant claim and belongs in the circuit court, district division, for the Dover area; the small claims track may be available depending on the amount claimed. If she asserts statutory violations, plead them expressly rather than proceeding informally, because the statutory claim carries consequences small claims may not capture.
Claims.
- Failure to return the deposit with interest within thirty days.
- Failure to provide a written itemized statement of damages.
- Failure to give the required written notice of the deposit account.
- Retention of amounts attributable to ordinary wear and tear and to a condition she reported.
Relief. Return of the wrongfully withheld deposit plus statutory interest; damages for the statutory violations, which for willful violations may be augmented beyond the deposit itself, together with costs and, where the statute allows, reasonable attorney's fees. Verify the current statutory measure of damages before drafting the prayer-the multiplier language has been amended over time and the complaint should track the version in force.
Evidence to marshal. The move-out photographs, the March 2023 email, the forwarding address email, the lease (for any cleaning clause), the postmarked envelope, and any bank records showing she paid the deposit.
Practical note. A demand letter with a short deadline and the envelope attached often resolves these cases; the postmark is the most persuasive document she has.