I need to take my landlord to small claims and need advice.?

Question

I recently moved out of an apartment I was living in for over 2 years. I requested a final walk through but my landlord said it was not necessary as long as I cleaned the apartment and removed all of my belongings. I asked about the carpet since I had 2 pets living with me. She said to leave them as is because the carpets were old when I moved in and she would replace them anyways. I was naive to believe her because after I moved out she deducted money for cleaning the apartment (no receipt), replacing the carpet (rec'd an estimate invoice that was dated one week prior to my move out), and unpaid rent (even though I gave 50 days notice). On my original lease terms that ended over a year ago, I was required to give 60 days but then after a year I went on a month-to-month tenancy. I found a place that I could give her 50 days so I went ahead to be a good tenant. She still charged me for 10 days of unpaid rent. She is holding 50% of my deposit. I tried to reason with her and she referred to false state laws on why it was her right to keep my money. I sent her one certified letter that recapped the situation which she responded to she was in the right. I sent a 2nd certified letter that itemized the reasons on why she denied me my civil rights (state CA) and she refused to accept that letter. I know I will have to take her to small claims but wanted to get advise here on what you might think the outcome is based on experience. Please let me know. Thank you.

Answer 1

She is a lousy landlord and she is a weasel.  But you learned a lesson. You video tape your move-in and move-out and don't throw away the tape.  You never leave without meeting the landlord.  Force it.  GO on Judge Judy and Judy will roast your landlord.  judgejudy.com. /

Answer 2

Sounds like you have taken the appropriate steps. If you made an immediate demand for a refund via certified mail, it is not necessary to resend the same request. Even though she refused a walk through, if you took pictures of the place once clean, those will go a long way to proving your suit.  If you articulated the above in the certified letter that she answered then you should have some good information with which to take her to court (make sure to have both docs).

Basically in such an arena, it is an evaluation of credibility. Since you have made an appropriate demand via certified letter and immediately initiated a dispute it sounds good for you.

Remember, go to court prepared, with a fully thought out recount of events complete with time line, and witnesses or affidavits, if your witnesses are unavailable. If someone or a company helped you move out and can testify to the condition then that helps a lot.

You really have nothing to loose except a filing fee. If you have the documentation or at least a witness then you have your best bet!

Please note that some states give the LL time to refund the appropriate amount of money before penalties are assessed (sometimes as much as 3x the amount due). Make sure that time has expired before filing a suit.

Answer 3

Landlords are people; some are charitable and some are bullies.

Take proof of your statements to the court and you will win; no doubt

about it.

we can discuss more tomorrow if you like.   YOUR proof sending

the cert letter is sufficient proof in court.