Backstory- I moved at the end of January. I lived in a modest one bedroom in a rough neighborhood. I spent two days straight cleaning the empty apartment. The only thing I did not do was shampoo the carpet.
I had an apointment with the manager to do a final walk thru and hand over the keys. At the appointed time I walked to the manger’s unit and knocked… No answer.
Went back after 15 minutes… knocked again- nothing.
Talked to one of my neighbors who said that the manager had left sometime that morning.
I dropped the keys, along with my new address in the rent slot.
I should have taken pictures.
Yes, this was a mistake.
After a month, I call the landlord company and ask about my deposit. They say it had just been mailed to the old address since they didn’t have the new one (although I had included it with the keys when I dropped it off)and assumed it would be forwarded. They asked that I wait a little while for it show up. That was reasonable to me so I waited. I gave it almost two more weeks and it hadn’t shown up. I called again. They would check with the bank and make sure it hadn’t been cashed and then send me out a new one.
Lots of “Oh, the check was supposed to go out on Friday but the secretary forgot to mail it… it will go out today.” blah blah… I get it mid-April.
My deposit was 750… I got 420 of it back.
I’ve looked into tenants rights in California. And they adhered to some of the back up unformation that they were supposed to provide but not all. A lot of the charges are, in my opinion, excessive. In fact the only reasonable deduction I found was for the carpet cleaning.
What it ultimately breaks down to is- Will it be worth it to file a small claims suit against them?
INAL and all that jazz, but my understanding is that California state law says that if you ask for a final inspection, they legally have to give you one. If you had an appointment and he didn’t show, he is then obligated to give you the full deposit back, regardless of the amount of damage you did.
Further, if they didn’t send you an itemization of things they were going to deduct within 21 calendar days (civil code 1950.5, I believe), then they also have to give you your entire deposit back.
Theoretically, if you took them to court about this, you could also pursue a bad faith claim, which means you can sue them for double your entire deposit.
I’m sure someone with more info than me will pop in here any time with actual sources
$330 for a carpet cleaning a one bedroom apartment is just ridiculous.
Also I’m pretty sure every state has a law that states something to the effect of “reasonable damage”. I’m sure you can infer what that means.
For example, here in Texas apartment complexes HAVE to change the carpet every four years. Now if a tenant stay in the apartment for longer than four years they don’t have to change it for the duration of the tenants occupancy. But once that tenant moves; it has to be replaced.
I think it’s 7 years in CA (life of carpet). So, if he charged you to replace the carpet, he can’t pay you the full price, just a percentage of the life left on the carpet.
You don’t even need to go to small claims. Write a letter, noting the relevant statutes, send it certified mail, and wait for a call. They’ll have your money for you in a week, tops.
I know someone who did just this. Except it was the property manager rather than the landlord not paying back the security deposit. Did the whole small claims thing, was about to win when the judge noticed that the manager’s name was on the form rather than the owner. But she said the claim was excellent and had her refile. Breezed thru the second time and got her money+filing fee.
Boom. Trifecta of cliched, bullshit excuses for keeping your deposit. I don’t suppose you got charged for not defrosting the freezer, did you? That’s a classic one as well.
How long did you live there? If it is more than 12 months, you can almost definitely win on the paint, more than 24, it’s pretty much guaranteed. California Tenant Law Handbook outlines the normal wear and tear thing for paint.
But like I said before: did they get you this itemization within 21 calender days? If not, you just need to point that out and you’ll get all your money back. Doesn’t matter if you flung poo on the walls. If they denied you a right to a move out inspection, this is doubly true.
I had to file against my previous landlord (this was in Washington).
I was completely prepared to lose part of my deposit, but he immediately opened with needing to “replace the carpet upstairs due to dog odor”. I immediately knew he was lying, because the dogs had NEVER been upstairs. Our theory is that since he was trying to sell the place (instead of repairing the roof), he wanted to use our deposit to make the place more presentable. I told him there was no way we’d let him use our deposit to make his house more salable. He started arguing, and I started looking into filing in small claims court.
Luckily, he delayed past the fifteen-day deadline and, as my legal advisor said, “Well, then… he’s screwed.”
I filed for the full amount of the deposit, and for an additional amount equal to the deposit (which is allowed under WA law). As soon as he was served, he sent me the full amount of the deposit.
Long story short: if your state’s deadline has passed without him giving you the full deposit or a written itemization of how and why you’re not getting the full amount, then odds are, he’s screwed. Check with the tenant’s rights organization.
I’m in a vaguely similar situation, so my answer is ‘I’ll let you know in a month.’ But filing in small claims court is cheap and it’s not really time consuming, so check the laws for your state, and if you feel like you’re getting a raw deal, why not go ahead?
