Read the deduction itemization first

Most states require a landlord to send a written, itemized statement of any deductions — not just a number. Before you respond to anything, get that itemization in writing if you don't already have it. A vague "cleaning fee" or "damages" line with no breakdown is often the first thing worth pushing back on, independent of whether a dispute even needs to happen.

Pull up the comparison, room by room

Open your move-out report and go straight to the room the deduction is about. SealMove's move-out flow lines that room's move-in baseline up against the move-out captures automatically — you're not hunting through a camera roll trying to remember what a wall looked like ten months ago.

Check both timestamps, not just one

Every capture in the report shows a device timestamp and a separately server-anchored timestamp. If a landlord (or tenant) claims something happened at a specific time, the anchor timestamp is the one that's independently checkable — it isn't just whatever the phone's clock happened to say.

Share the report, not a description of it

Send the actual report link rather than summarizing what it shows. The other side can review every room side-by-side themselves and record a link acknowledgment — no app install, no account. A report both sides have actually looked at is harder to argue with than one side's paraphrase of it.

Know your state's actual deadline

Security deposit return deadlines are set by state statute and vary — 14 days in some states, 60 in others. Missing that deadline can matter regardless of the deposit's condition. See state deposit law basics for real, cited numbers.

When it's not resolving informally

Small-claims court exists specifically for disputes at this dollar amount, and most states let you file without a lawyer. A signed, dated, independently verifiable report is exactly the kind of documentation small-claims courts are used to seeing — but SealMove doesn't represent that any specific court will treat it a particular way, and this isn't legal advice about your specific situation.