Berkeley Landlord not returning Deposit (Alameda: low income, apartment, renter)

[kiran_shri1]

I rented a room for three months last year, It been a year since I vacated and I haven't received my deposit back. I texted him a couple of times and he promised to return but never did. I sent a certified letter requesting return of funds. The letter was returned as undeliverable. I know he still lives there, pretty sure he did not accept the letter knowing it would be a legal notice. Can anybody recommend next steps? I would hate to spend money on a lawyer for this

Thank You

[clongirl]

Small claims court-- I had to do this many years ago. Have a friend/relative/acquaintance/anyone knock on his front door and serve him the papers and walk away.

A lawyer, btw, will actually cost you MORE than what you're owed. Don't go that route unless you're okay with a check for 5 bucks for all of your trouble!

Of course, you will most likely win in small claims court. If the landlord doesn't show---then that's another issue, for another day.

[kiran_shri1]

Do I need to have proof of notice delivered before I approach small claims court?

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by kiran_shri1

Do I need to have proof of notice delivered before I approach small claims court?

Was the LL the owner or just another renter acting like the owner?


There are papers that you get the server to fill out showing they delivered the summons. Keep the letter you sent. Do not open it.

[kiran_shri1]

The lease owner is the landlord himself. and he lives in the same building. I have the returned and unopened letter. So is that enough to initiate the claims process?

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Yes, you can sue in small claims court. You need to have requested the money back. It's okay that the letter came back unopened. It shows you tried to request in writing your money back, plus, you can show the texts. Those are also considered to be "in writing," from what I understand, as CA recognizes electronic writings as valid.

If you are low income, you can apply to have the fees waived to file the claim in small claims court.

You will need to file in Alameda County, because that's where you did business with the landlord and it's where he lives.

You can call the Alameda County self-help line at (510) 272 1393. You can talk to a small claims court advisor for free.

If you are comfortable reading the rules yourself, it's really not hard to represent yourself in small claims court. You would just take your paperwork with you - your rental agreement, if you had one in writing, any documents about you moving out - giving notice, etc., proof of the amount of the deposit, the letter that was returned to you, and if you can somehow print out the text messages, that would be great. If not, type up a transcript of the texts, so you can hand it to the judge and you can offer to let the judge see your phone, too.

When a landlord doesn't pay the security deposit, in bad faith (not an innocent mistake), he can also be required to pay you punitive damages (a penalty) of up to twice the amount of the security deposit.

So, you would sue for the amount of your security deposit - plus - twice that amount in penalties. And also write in "and court costs," because if you win, he'll also have to reimburse you for the small claims court fee.

You'd put that amount in the form where it asks how much you are suing for. And say you are suing for your deposit, which the landlord agreed to pay you (so there is not dispute about what he owes you because he said he'd pay it and didn't) and punitive damages allowed under CA law of the maximum of twice the amount of the deposit.

Tell the judge you think you deserve the full penalty amount because it's been a year, you've asked for it back, and he's promised to send it, but hasn't, so the amount is not in question, and he refused to accept your certified letter. He's simply kept your deposit in bad faith.

Print this web page out to take to court and give to the judge. Use yellow highlighter to highlight section (l). Tell the judge it's CA Civil Code Section 1950.5 (l):

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/f...tionNum=1950.5

This is the section to highlight:

(l) The bad faith claim or retention by a landlord or the landlord’s successors in interest of the security or any portion thereof in violation of this section, or the bad faith demand of replacement security in violation of subdivision (j), may subject the landlord or the landlord’s successors in interest to statutory damages of up to twice the amount of the security, in addition to actual damages. The court may award damages for bad faith whenever the facts warrant that award, regardless of whether the injured party has specifically requested relief. In an action under this section, the landlord or the landlord’s successors in interest shall have the burden of proof as to the reasonableness of the amounts claimed or the authority pursuant to this section to demand additional security deposits.


Small claims court judges are lawyers that act as judges part-time. They don't always know all of the landlord/tenant laws, so just give them a copy of the law with your other documents, and highlight the above section to make it easy for him/her to agree with you, in case they think the law is different (they're just human).

Here's the small claims court info for Alameda County:

Suing Someone - small_claims_selfhelp

You could try texting the landlord one more time, and tell him you're going to file a claim in small claims court for 3 times the deposit, because the law says he has to pay you twice the deposit in penalties. And he'll have to pay your court fees, too. But, if he pays you immediately with PayPal (or whatever) the amount of the deposit, you won't sue. But, if you go to court, it will be 3 times that amount.

Also, I'd send another letter saying the same thing to his address, but this time send it with USPS priority mail with delivery confirmation - with no signature required. Because, the postal worker will simply scan it when they put it in the postal box, and you'll have proof it was delivered. He can't avoid proof of delivery that way. That's what I used to do. I used to be an apartment manager.

You can also show the text and proof of delivery of the second letter in court, if you still end up in court. It will show you tried to avoid court and gave him fair warning and multiple chances - which would help to prove bad faith. Good luck.

[kiran_shri1]

@NoMoreSnowForMe Thank you for the detailed reply. I will text him with the court threat. He may respond to that.