This allows the landlord time to take steps to make sure the pipes don't freeze. A tenant's failure to notify the landlord is a misdemeanor. The only exceptions to this are cases where the unit's pipes are not subject to freezing or where the tenant is leaving on the day the tenancy is supposed to end anyway. If the landlord does not return the deposit in the time allowed, the landlord must pay the tenant an amount equal to two times the amount of the deposit wrongfully withheld, plus interest. This must be done within 60 days after the current landlord's interest in the property ends or when the new landlord is required to return the security deposit under the rules discussed earlier, whichever is the earlier time.
Interest runs to the last day of the month in which the landlord returns the deposit.
When a tenant has sued to recover a withheld deposit, interest would run to the day the judgment is entered in favor of the tenant. There, it is up to the landlord to justify his or her actions. Those tenants who do may be taken to court and may have to pay the landlord the amount of the rent withheld plus a penalty. However, before the landlord can take a tenant to court, the landlord must give the tenant a written demand for the rent and a notice that it is illegal to use the security deposit for the last rent payment.