Your tenant moved out. You have 21 days. Do you know what to do next? Since April 1, 2025, a California deposit deduction has to be backed by photographs and an itemized statement on time — and most disputes are lost on process, not intent. ClearDeduct tells you the next step at every stage and captures the evidence as you go.
No generic property management. ClearDeduct is built exclusively for AB 2801 — the AB 2801 specialist for independent California landlords managing 1–50 units.
From $39/mo · 14-day money-back guarantee — see refund terms. Cancel anytime.
Applies to both monthly and annual plans. Refund is processed at once, to the original payment method; banks usually show it within 5–10 business days. Your subscription ends at the same moment.
iPhone app · subscribe on the web, sign in on your iPhone · Android later
A single contested deposit can cost a landlord $5,000–$50,000 in legal fees, statutory damages, and wrongful-withholding penalties (Cal. Civ. Code §1950.5(m)). Most of that is lost on process — a statement sent on day 22, repairs done before the photos, a deduction with no paper trail. ClearDeduct runs the process so the dispute never reaches small-claims court.
California-only, and only this. Move-in, notice, the pre-move-out inspection, repairs, the itemized statement — at every step, what the law requires and what to do now. Not a generic rental tool that happens to take photos.
The evidence layer under the process: every photo is kept at about 12 megapixels with nothing drawn over it, its capture time and GPS position recorded in the file, and a fingerprint taken at upload so any later change can be detected. While your plan is active, photos are kept for 4 years after move-out — the statute of limitations on written contracts (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §337) — and every inspection downloads as a ZIP you can keep. Court-ready PDFs formatted for any small-claims hearing — the part a phone gallery can never give you.
Since AB 12, most California landlords may hold at most one month’s rent as a deposit; a small landlord may hold two. If a court finds the deposit was withheld in bad faith, Civil Code §1950.5(m) allows up to twice that amount on top.
An estimate, not legal advice. Legal fees and small-claims costs are not included; the bad-faith penalty is at the court’s discretion.
Screens from the demo account · sample data
Enter the move-out date once. The 21-day deadline is calculated for you, and reminders arrive by push and email 7, 3 and 1 day before it.
A checklist walks every room before any repair or cleaning. Each photo is kept at about 12 megapixels, with its time and location recorded in the file.
Choose only the areas that were repaired or cleaned. The after-repair photos join the same record.
Each deduction carries the photos that support it and its cost. Professional work records who did it, and an amount without an invoice is marked as an estimate.
Generate the itemized statement as a PDF. Email it with the PDF attached if your tenant agreed to email, or record the day you mailed it or handed it over. Every delivery is logged.
Deposit held, each deduction with its photos and cost, the amount returned and the 21-day deadline, on one document your tenant can check line by line.
Sample data and a fictional address; the photos come from the demo account.
Civil Code §1950.5, as amended by AB 2801.
ClearDeduct’s standard goes beyond the statute: every photo carries its capture time and, when the phone has a location fix, its GPS position in the file; a fingerprint of the file is recorded at upload; and, while your plan is active, photos are kept for 4 years after move-out, the limitations period for written contracts (Code of Civil Procedure §337).
A property is one address; units in the same building count once. Every plan includes move-in, move-out and after-repair inspections, the 21-day deadline with reminders, itemized statements as PDF, and photos kept 4 years after move-out while you are subscribed.
or $249 billed yearly
Up to 3 properties
Join the launch waitlistor $499 billed yearly
Up to 20 properties
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Unlimited properties
Join the launch waitlist14-day money-back guarantee — see refund terms. Cancel anytime.
Applies to both monthly and annual plans. Refund is processed at once, to the original payment method; banks usually show it within 5–10 business days. Your subscription ends at the same moment.
There is no trial period; your first purchase comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee instead. Applies to both monthly and annual plans. Refund is processed at once, to the original payment method; banks usually show it within 5–10 business days. Your subscription ends at the same moment. Within the 14 days the refund does not depend on what you have used: on your account page choose Cancel subscription, then Cancel and refund. Refund terms (§4.4)
Yes. California law requires the itemized statement in person or by first-class mail unless you and the tenant agreed to email (Civil Code §1950.5(h)(1)(B)). Deliver it, then record the date and how you delivered it in ClearDeduct; the record is logged with the statement.
About 12 megapixels (roughly 4000 × 3000 pixels), with no filters or overlays. That is sharp enough to zoom in on scratches and stains, and keeps uploads fast on cellular data. For very small details, take a close-up.
ClearDeduct is an iPhone app. You create your account and subscribe at cleardeduct.com, then sign in on your iPhone. An Android version is planned.
You can cancel online at any time: on your account page at cleardeduct.com, choose Cancel subscription. Your plan stays active until the end of the period you paid for, and you can resume until then. When the plan ends you have 60 days to download everything with Download My Data — each inspection as a ZIP of the original photos and its PDF reports, and your records as spreadsheets (on your account page, or in the app: More → Profile & Account). We email you when the 60 days start and 7 days before they end; then your data is permanently deleted (Terms §4.5).
No. ClearDeduct is software that runs the process and keeps the records; it is not a law firm. Whether evidence is admitted is decided by the court. For advice on a specific situation, talk to a licensed California attorney.
One email at launch — then the evidence chain is yours to build.