Here is the California Dept of Consumer Affairs book on your rights:
http://www.hcd.ca.gov/manufactured-m...t-Landlord.pdf
The section on initial inspections begins on page 55 of the handbook.
Here are some sections from the handbook:
Landlord’s notice
The landlord must give the tenant written notice of the tenant’s right to request an initial
inspection of the rental and to be present during the inspection. The landlord must give this
notice to the tenant a “reasonable time” after either the landlord or the tenant has given the
other written notice of intent to terminate (end) the tenancy (see pages 49–52 and 67–69). If
the tenant has a lease, the landlord must give the tenant this notice a “reasonable time” before
the lease ends. If the tenant does not request an initial inspection, the landlord does not have
any other duties with respect to the initial inspection.
Scheduling the inspection
When the tenant requests an initial inspection, the landlord and the tenant must try to agree
on a mutually convenient date and time for the inspection. The inspection cannot be scheduled
earlier than two weeks before the end of the tenancy or lease term. In any event, the inspection
should be scheduled to allow the tenant ample time to perform repairs or do cleaning identified
during the initial inspection.226 The landlord must give the tenant at least 48 hours’ advance
written notice of the date and time of the inspection whether or not the parties have agreed to
a date and time for the inspection. The landlord is not required to give the 48-hour notice to the
tenant if:
• The parties have not agreed on a date and time, and the tenant no longer wants the
inspection; or
• The landlord and tenant have agreed in writing to waive (give up) the 48-hour notice
requirement.
Itemized statement
The landlord or the landlord’s agent may perform the inspection if the tenant is not present,
unless the tenant has previously withdrawn the request for inspection.
Based on the inspection, the landlord or agent must prepare an itemized statement of
repairs or cleaning that the landlord or agent believes the tenant should perform in order to avoid
deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The landlord or agent must give the statement to
the tenant if the tenant is present for the inspection, or leave it inside the unit if the tenant is not
present. The landlord or agent also must give the tenant a copy of the sections of California’s
security deposit statute that list lawful uses of tenants’ security deposits.
The security deposit statute has the effect of limiting the kinds of repairs or cleaning that
the landlord or agent may properly include in the itemized statement. Because of this statute,
the landlord cannot, for example, use the tenant’s security deposit to repair damages or correct
defects in the rental that existed when the tenant moved in or that are the result of ordinary wear
and tear.230 Since the landlord cannot use the tenant’s deposit to correct these kinds of defects,
the landlord or agent cannot list them in the itemized statement.
Before the tenancy ends, the tenant may make the repairs or do the cleaning described in
the itemized statement, as allowed by the rental agreement, in order to avoid deductions from the
deposit. However, the tenant cannot be required to repair defects or do cleaning if the tenant’s
security deposit could not be used properly to pay for that repair or cleaning.
Final inspection
The landlord may perform a final inspection after the tenant has moved out of the rental. The
landlord may make a deduction from the tenant’s security deposit to repair a defect or correct a
condition:
• That was identified in the inspection statement and that the tenant did not repair or correct; or,
• That occurred after the initial inspection; or
• That was not identified during the initial inspection due to the presence of the tenant’s
possessions.
Any deduction must be reasonable in amount, and must be for a purpose permitted by
the security deposit statute.233 Twenty-one calendar days (or less) after the tenancy ends, the
landlord must refund any portion of the security deposit that remains after the landlord has made
any lawful deductions (see pages 24–26, 53–54)