Ohio tenants must give their landlord a forwarding or new address in writing for security-deposit correspondence under state law. Keep a copy and evidence of delivery. Missing that notice can affect additional damages and attorney fees, but it does not automatically forfeit the refundable deposit balance, as Ohio’s Fifth District Court of Appeals explained in Burnside v. Ickes.

Prepare your Ohio deposit forwarding address notice

Gather your lease, the landlord’s notice address, your deposit payment record and a mailing address where you can reliably receive correspondence. As a practical precaution, send the address before or at the handover. Keep the notice separate from any disagreement about deductions.

The following is an editorial template, not an official court form. Replace the bracketed fields before sending it.

Date: [date]

To: [landlord’s name and mailing address]

From: [tenant’s name]

Rental property: [street address and unit number]

Subject: Forwarding address for security deposit

I am providing the following forwarding address for correspondence concerning my security deposit for the rental property listed above:

[Recipient’s name]

[Street or mailing address, including unit number]

[City, state and ZIP code]

Please send any security-deposit refund and written itemization of deductions to this address. Please acknowledge receipt of this notice.

[Signature and printed name]

[Optional telephone number or email]

This notice supplies a mailing address. It does not establish an agreed termination date or document that possession has been returned; preserve those records separately. If your mailing address changes again, send a dated update and retain both versions.

For other move-out preparations, use our rental process guides.

Keep the notice and delivery evidence together

A saved letter records what you wrote. Pair it with evidence of where you sent it and the delivery outcome.

Section 5321.16 requires writing but does not prescribe certified mail. Ohio Legal Help recommends certified mail with a return receipt for a deposit-demand letter, along with retaining copies. That is also a useful documentation option for an initial address notice. Its security-deposit guidance, updated November 4, 2022, also recommends obtaining a receipt when returning keys.

For your address notice:

• By mail: save the exact letter, mailing receipt, tracking result and any return receipt or returned envelope.
• By hand: bring a duplicate and ask the recipient to date and acknowledge it.
• As an electronic backup: save the full message, attachment, recipient details and any acknowledgment. Avoid relying on an unsaved portal entry.

Record unsuccessful delivery attempts accurately. A returned or unclaimed envelope documents that outcome; it does not acknowledge that the landlord received the notice.

When does Ohio’s deposit return deadline begin?

The statute requires delivery of the written itemization of deductions and the amount due within 30 days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. Both events matter. The last rent-payment date alone does not establish the starting point. Ohio Revised Code 5321.16(B)

Document the basis for the termination date: the lease, termination correspondence or an agreement ending the tenancy. Separately record when you returned possession, including the key handover and the landlord’s acknowledgment. Label a planned moving date as “planned” until the event occurs.

Hypothetical example: Assume the rental agreement ends September 30, but possession is not delivered until October 2. The statutory period runs after both events have occurred, so the September rent-payment date does not start it. This assumes those termination and possession dates are established; it does not resolve a disputed surrender or early lease termination.

Use this editorial evidence log alongside the notice:

Property managers can use the same log to acknowledge address updates, record the return of possession and retain the accounting sent to the tenant. Build these records into the turnover process alongside other property-management responsibilities, keeping address receipt, termination and possession as separate entries.

What a missing forwarding address changes

Failure to supply a forwarding address does not prevent recovery of the unused deposit, the court explained in Burnside. The address requirement affects the additional statutory remedies. Burnside v. Ickes, paragraph 26

The landlord still needs a lawful basis for deductions. These can include past-due rent and damages caused by a tenant’s breach of the rental agreement or statutory duties. The landlord bears the burden of establishing that deductions are lawful. Oldendick v. Crocker, paragraphs 28–30

Where the statutory requirements are met, recovery can include the money due, an additional amount equal to what was wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorney fees. Section 5321.16(C)

Hypothetical example: Assume a lawful $200 deduction from a $1,000 deposit leaves $800 wrongfully withheld. The refund plus equal statutory damages would total $1,600, before any attorney-fee award. This assumes entitlement to those remedies; it is not automatically twice the original deposit.

There is also a qualification to the written-notice rule: Ohio appellate decisions recognize substantial compliance where the landlord actually knows a usable address. In Jensen, the landlord had a known contact route through the tenant’s attorney. The court upheld additional damages and attorney fees despite the absence of a forwarding address supplied in writing by the tenant. That exception depends on the facts and is not a reason to skip written notice. Jensen v. Boulevard Investments, paragraphs 19–23

Preserve the evidence behind disputed deductions

Keep the lease, deposit receipt, rent-payment records, move-in condition report, repair correspondence and original move-out photographs together. Ohio Legal Help recommends move-out photos and notes and distinguishes tenant-caused damage from reasonable wear and tear. Security-deposit guidance

When an accounting arrives, compare each charge with that file. Identify the specific disagreement: a condition already present at move-in, a payment missing from the ledger or an unexplained repair charge. Ask for the basis and supporting records for each disputed amount, and retain the response.

If notice, timing or deductions remain disputed, take the complete file to an Ohio legal-aid organization or tenant-law attorney to assess the available claim.