San Francisco Bay Property Management

Still Mailing Deposit Checks? California Just Changed the Rules on YouThat stack of envelopes, stamps, and paper checks you keep on hand for move-outs? As of January 1, 2026, it may no longer be legally sufficient. California Assembly Bill 414 (AB 414) has flipped the default for security deposit returns: if your tenant paid rent or their deposit e...

Grab your phone, pull up any property management company's review page, and scroll. Notice something? The glowing five-star reviews rarely mention rent checks arriving on time. Nobody writes a raving paragraph about a deposit that landed in their account. That's expected, table-stakes stuff. Instead, the reviews people bother to write are a...