I lived in California, and my landlord told me she may have to use my entire deposit for repairs!!!?

Question

including the pet deposit- that is almost $1500! Also, she said she has 90 days to return it- but I read that it needs to be returned by no more than 30 days. [it has been nearly 80 days since I moved out and still no deposit] This woman also said she may be a bad reference bc of what she says are damages to the home (yet I contend that much was due to natural wear and tear or negligence on her part of keeping up her property). But a few months back she said I was the best renter she ever had.

I'm living in another state now so it would be hard to fight her in small claims court (I don't have the money to fly down) but I WANT TO GET MY DEPOSIT BACK!!!!

What would you do in this situation?

Answer 1

in california the landlord has 21 days from surrender to return your deposit in full or give a detailed list of what was deducted along with reciepts. if she does not, you can sue for twice the deposit. if you lived in your house/apartment for more than 1 year they cannot charge you for paint or carpet cleaning (normal wear and tear) send her a certified letter and tell you you will be suing for double the deposit if she does not return it. and follow through with it. you can fill out the paperwork on line www.ezlegalfile.com and have a friend that is still in the area file with the court. filing fee is 30.00 (in san diego county) and have your friend or a process server serve her.

as far as a bad reference, it looks worse on her if you take her to court than on you.

Answer 2

Read through your lease again.  It should specify a time frame for refunding the security deposit.  If so, and it took longer than that for your landlord to inform you about the needed repairs then technically she is in breach of the lease agreement.  Show her the clause in the lease stating the time frame for refunding the deposit.  Ask her to provide specific details about what repairs are required and compare her list to any language in the lease that addresses these issues.  In general, things like carpet and paint are repaired/replaced at the landlord's sole cost and expense.  It's only if there is significant damage above and beyond normal wear and tear that part or all of the security deposit should be withheld.  Bear in mind, however, that unless you're prepared to go to small claims court the odds f her actually paying you are 50/50 at best.

Also, you might want to ask what happened in the lat few months to change her opinion of you as a tenant.  It might shed some light on why she's withholding the security deposit.

Answer 3

got google?

I googled renter's rights in california.  I came up with the following web page.

fs

Answer 4

I am afraid my advice is simply for the "next time."

Your best defense in these situations is a good offense.  I always take photos of the place before moving in and signing the contract and get a set of initials on all of the photos after printing them from the land lord.

Upon moving out I take a new set of photos of everything and again get a set of initials from the landlord.  Now I have left the two places that I did this in both in a state cleaner than when I moved in...and with not one bit of damage.

Both times I did this I grudgingly got a check almost immediately.  Landlords are notorious for keeping the deposits and I simply don't allow them the latitude.

Good luck.