What if my landlord refused a final inspection? (rental, lawyer)

[dinah]

rented a house in orange county. My landlord never contacted me to schedule a final inspection of the property even though I had requested twice and even offered three dates that would work. Now, they are witholding ALL deposit and stating that I owe them money. Is there any re-course for a landlord refusing the final inspection in California?

[ferretkona]

Small claims court.

[dinah]

Yeah, was afraid of that. I was hoping maybe they forfieted (sp?0 their right to withhold any deposit being that they did not give me a final inspection even though I requested one.

[Mach50]

Did you take pictures or video before you left the place?
Did they provide you a list of things in question?

The California Tenant laws state:

Within 21 days after you leave the unit, the landlord must refund your full deposit, except for limited deductions which must be itemized in a accompanying notice. The landlord may only deduct from your security deposit the amounts that are reasonably necessary to clean the premises for the next tenant, repair damages that you caused beyond normal wear and tear, and pay any rent you owed but did not pay. Painting the unit is not a legitimate deduction, unless inherent in repairs of damage you caused, such as replacing the walls. The list must itemize each amount, time spent, hourly rate, the name and contact information of the person who did the work, and what was done, and be accompanied by receipts.

As noted above, the law expressly prohibits any money paid to secure the tenant's performance under the lease from being "non-refundable". Courts have exposed many efforts by landlords to circumvent that law by labeling the money under other name, like rental fee or preparation charge or cleaning fee. Many leases still include such non-refundability terms, even though void. Landlords get to keep thousands of dollars for every few hundred they have to return to a tenant who catches them. There is no criminal punishment under the law for landlords who commit such embezzlement, or attempt to so defraud their tenants by keeping the "non-refundable" language in.

If the landlord fails to return the security deposit, your remedy is to sue him in small claims court.
Make your demand letter clear, explaining which deductions were improper and why, and keep a
copy for court. Sue not only for the amount that you paid, but for "statutory damages and interest" for the landlord's bad faith retention of the security deposit. You can get your money back and then some, if the judge agrees [up to twice the amount of the deposit for "bad faith" retention!]. The "non-refundable" provision is strong evidence of the landlord's bad faith. Have a lawyer coach you in your small claims presentation.

http://www.caltenantlaw.com/Deposit.htm

[WannaBNorCal]

Originally Posted by dinah

rented a house in orange county. My landlord never contacted me to schedule a final inspection of the property even though I had requested twice and even offered three dates that would work. Now, they are witholding ALL deposit and stating that I owe them money. Is there any re-course for a landlord refusing the final inspection in California?

If you have your requests in writing, take them when you go to court. The property must be shmucks - had this happen - wasn't able to be there when they did a final expection - turned out fine. Sorry this happened to you.