# Securtiy Deposit refunds vs. not

**URL:** <https://community.stessa.com/t/securtiy-deposit-refunds-vs-not/7332>\
**Category:** Investor Q&A\
**Created:** [July 25, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://community.stessa.com/t/securtiy-deposit-refunds-vs-not/7332 "2022-07-25T15:31:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![gojr69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d78d45/32.png) [@gojr69](https://community.stessa.com/u/gojr69)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://community.stessa.com/t/securtiy-deposit-refunds-vs-not/7332/1 "2022-07-25T15:31:20Z")

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Hello… can’t find any info on how to handle security deposits that are not returned to tenant. Property shows a negative balance on account due to a non-returned security deposit last month. How should these dollars be reassigned that are retained for repairs?

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**Author:** ![graham.comstock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f14d63/32.png) [@graham.comstock](https://community.stessa.com/u/graham.comstock)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://community.stessa.com/t/securtiy-deposit-refunds-vs-not/7332/2 "2022-07-28T16:30:55Z")

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Why was it not returned, that is important? If used for repairs, then you would debit “security deposit” and credit “repairs”. In short you need to debit (-) the security deposit so that it is “used” or “returned” on the Balance Sheet, Rent Roll report (and others). You would then apply this credit (+) to wherever the security deposit was used. When you have an expense from your repair company (or internal), there will be a positive balance in the “repair” category that is drawn down creating a zero-dollar repair.

Hope this helps.