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revise procedures for returning and withholding security deposits for residential premises.

Landlords must now return security deposits within 21 days of a tenancy ending and can only withhold money for unpaid rent, other agreed-upon charges, or repairs beyond normal wear and tear. If a tenant requests an itemized accounting within 45 days, the landlord must provide it, and landlords who fail to follow these rules or wrongfully keep deposits face up to $200 in punitive damages.

modify the surcharge for a responding party in a forcible entry and detainer action.

This bill eliminates the $25 court surcharge that defendants must pay when filing an answer in eviction (forcible entry and detainer) cases. The change removes eviction cases from the list of civil lawsuits where courts can collect this "equal access to courts" fee from responding parties.

clarify documentation requirements for assistance animals in rental dwelling units.

HB1231 clarifies what counts as an "assistance animal" in rental housing by expanding the definition to include emotional support animals, service animals, and therapy animals, and specifies when landlords can require tenants to provide documentation proving they have a disability that requires such an animal. The bill also establishes exceptions—landlords cannot demand documentation if the tenant's disability is already obvious to them, and small landlords with four or fewer units in owner-occupied buildings are exempt from having to allow assistance animals.