When to return security desposit if lease not ended?
This is a follow up to an earlier question I asked. I had a previously excellent tenant break their lease. We agreed she would continue to pay rent until a new tenant is found. She is not low income. We're advertising heavily but given the time of year, we're not getting any bites. We're below market rent. In the spring our properties in this neighborhood rent in a week, at a higher rent. That's the background.
She hasn't followed through on paying rent for this month and I suspect we may need rent from her in December, as well. We'll likely be going to small claims court.
What I'm specifically wondering about is the security deposit. Do I need to provide the itemized list within 30 days of the day they vacated the property or within 30 days of of the end of the lease? Also, do I need to return the balance of the security deposit within 30 days of them vacating or within 30 days of the end of the lease? (We'll end the lease when a new tenant is in place)
I've been doing lots of googling, but the answers I've found aren't very clear. Before consulting with a lawyer, I wanted to pick the brains of this community :-) I want to do this by the book so I'll have a clear case if/when we end up in court.