Rent Deposit (rental, deposits, house, illegal)

[Mackt]

My landlord has kept the majority of my deposit to do incidentials that even I never had. I moved into his condo at MOD CUT Solana Beach, CA 92075 in May of 2004 and vacated in May of 2008. After moving in I notice that a door knob was missing and the dishwasher was emply, simply a shelf not actual dishwasher. I contacted the land lord and one was installed, arranged by him. In putting it in he told me that he would have to disconnect the garbage disposal. He subsequentally spoke to the landlord MOD CUT. Now on leaving he is charging myself for the repair $425. He is also charging for the clean up of a non existant backyard that he had maintained the whole time I was there. Literally the backyard is a patio with trees he trimmed every year. He also charged $150 to take a piece of cardboad and a plant to the dump when we have industrial removal on site. $105 to clean windows that were done twice a year, $70 to replace a complete screen door when only the screen was damaged in a storm and $225 to clean carpets. We also had a near catastophy when on of the mirrored sliding doors fell into my daughters room in the middle of the time. I did not complain since they were not high quality but now am being charged $364.00.

This behavior is not only unprofessional but unethical. He had my deposit for 4 years with no interest paid. What can I do in this situation?

[sponger42]

Write him a letter and make yourself a copy. Include the complaints and items you don't feel responsible for. Ask that he return the part of the deposit you dispute (dishwasher, backyard, etc). Ask also that he include receipts for the sliding door, the transport of trash to the dump, and the screen door. Send it via certified mail with a receipt.

Warn him that you are prepared to take him to small claims court if he doesn't respond adequately. Make yourself a copy. Copy any of your rental forms and prepare yourself for court. Contact your area's tenant's rights organization to find out how to open a case against your landlord. Look up tenant's/landlord's rights in California and check to see what his and your responsibilities are. Quote the relevant sections of the law in your letter to him.

You are probably responsible for the glass door and screen. But he can't replace it with a more expensive door. You're only responsible for what was in the house when you moved in. Not the dishwasher (unless you broke it).

If he doesn't respond, take him to court. You will probably get back the entire deposit and as much as triple the deposit if the judge decides you deserve damages. Make your requests polite, reasonable, and legal. If he acts unprofessionally or illegally, and you pursue it, he will pay through the nose in the long run.

Hopefully he will return a reasonable amount of the deposit with a little "encouragement."

Also, you don't get interest on deposits in California, so don't ask.

[Donn2390]

It is the responsibility of both parties to do a pre move-in walk through to note any problems, and then do a move-out walk through to note any possibly problems, and at that time the landlord can note things that don't meet his expectations, and give you the opportunity to make the repairs. Both walk through's should be done with a check list so everything is in writing. Without a paper trail, you might as well forget going to court. For $365., I would not waste the time and effort, but consider it a lesson learned to get everything in writing.
I would, however, write the letter suggest in the above comment. You have nothing to lose. As Sponger notes, you will probably be responsible for some of the damage, which will reduce the $365 figure even more. Is it worth the trouble and expense for a couple hundred? How much is your time worth? If you do have a paper trail, go for it..!