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I have a very similar problem. I moved into a home two years ago and just moved out at the end of May 2009. We sent a 30 day notice etc. Not only did we not hear back from our landlord or receive our deposit back after 21 days but a month later about 30 days he sends us an email with estimates from different companies for the "damages" to the home. In addition he said these "damages" incurred which are all extremely questionable exceed the deposit amount and that we owe him an additional $360!! He has done a very poor job of keeping in contact with us and letting us know what is going on. I have emailed him numerous times he has not responded, he then attempted to call me in which I did not have a phone at the time and knew he called as I was able to retrieve my messages. Since then I have sent two more emails and I have not heard anything back from him. At this point it has been 5 months and he avoids us and wont let us know what is going on.
I would like to know if small claims court is the way to go as that is what I am thinking. If so what is the best way to go about doing so??
Thanks
I am guessing, if he is not returning your emails that he doesn't intend on collecting the $360.00. as for the deposit, contact someone who really knows, not just us, on these threads. I am guessing it is probably too late at this time. We ran into a similar problem many years ago. The land lady didn't try to charge us extra but did keep our cleaning deposit, sighting dirty carpets, 1 bent blind and a fireplace that wasn't clean. Actually she was right about that, we simply forgot about it, the carpet had been professionally cleaned by us and the blind, I don't remember. We just dropped it, not worth going to small claims court.
I paid $1000 deposit to tribeca agency. Upon leaving the house, it was flawless. (better than when i moved in!) the landlord and i walked the house upon leaving, and no problems - the manager admits.
Tribeca agency only returns $500, and not the original $1000!
The original deposit was only $500 but since my credit score was not 750 and because i didn't have $3000 in the bank - then they charged me an additional $500 upon move in. Totaling $1000.
Today was the 21'st day from my move out, and i received only $500!
What to do,
mr. Reinaga from alhambra california.
Thank you very much!!!
If it's one thing I learned after my first landlord tried to keep my security deposit is to take pictures of your place before you move in and after you move out especially of the walls and carpeting and make sure you always do a walk through where they sign off on everything being fine. I went to small claims court and won and have never had a deposit kept other than for cleaning since.
If it's one thing I learned after my first landlord tried to keep my security deposit is to take pictures of your place before you move in and after you move out especially of the walls and carpeting and make sure you always do a walk through where they sign off on everything being fine. I went to small claims court and won and have never had a deposit kept other than for cleaning since.
you are so right and always have a walk through before and at departure...without it proving can be a pain.
If the Landlord did not walk through the property with you before you vacated then I think you have a case. Look at your contract.
and I totlally disagree for that reason. No walk through, the landlord can claim what he wants. Plus, I really think, after 5 months and not much communication this would better be left alone. As long as he doesn't follow up on the $360 bit, let's just say, lesson learned.
Rent Stabilization Ordinance above will help you. LA's ordinance is very pro renter.
Burank Glendale Pasadena are not so much.
Look at your lease. If you used an agent to find you this rental, they should help you.
If you signed a contract directly with a landlord you are entirely on your own.
Good luck.
I have a very similar problem. I moved into a home two years ago and just moved out at the end of May 2009. We sent a 30 day notice etc. Not only did we not hear back from our landlord or receive our deposit back after 21 days but a month later about 30 days he sends us an email with estimates from different companies for the "damages" to the home. In addition he said these "damages" incurred which are all extremely questionable exceed the deposit amount and that we owe him an additional $360!! He has done a very poor job of keeping in contact with us and letting us know what is going on. I have emailed him numerous times he has not responded, he then attempted to call me in which I did not have a phone at the time and knew he called as I was able to retrieve my messages. Since then I have sent two more emails and I have not heard anything back from him. At this point it has been 5 months and he avoids us and wont let us know what is going on.
I would like to know if small claims court is the way to go as that is what I am thinking. If so what is the best way to go about doing so??
Thanks
Yes... California Small Claims exists for circumstances like this...
You need to go the Small Claims Clerk where the rental is located and file your case...
The clerk will prepare a document, upon paying the filing fee, that will have to be served to the owner... you cannot serve the notice or should anyone that is a party to the action.
I'm a landlord and have served several notices on behalf of co-workers and friends... not one went to trail because the law is quite clear... CA property owners have 21 days... period.
Any lawyer will advise the owner to settle... pronto.
The only time I've seen these type of cases become a little more complicated is when the Landlord returned the deposit balance to the last known address and it was returned by the Post Office... even then the Judge will say, "Now that you have the proper address, why are we in court.
The law also allows for damages...
I'm not a lawyer, so I can't give legal advice... only sharing my experience.
In February 2008 I moved from LA to Oakland for a new job. Moved into a new apartment, security deposit was $1200. Gave my 30 day notice in March of 2009. I moved to a different apartment in Oakland. The landlord was a complete piece of ****. He kept my $1,200 security deposit. He did NOT claim any damages. He simply refused my phone calls and never acknowledged any of my numerous certified mail requests demanding my money.
So I took him to small claims court in Oakland. First thing I did after filing was take half a day off of work and spend it down at the Alameda County Courthouse researching this gentlemen. Turns out no less than FOUR other former tenants had sued this guy for not returning their deposits. Three of the four cases the court found for the tenant. Now, when you sue your landlord for not returning your deposit, you sue for 1) the amount of your deposit 2) up to three times the amount of your deposit for acting in bad faith (aka stealing)(and why would you NOT seek the full 3x amount??) 3) any and all court costs and fees. Actually the full amount you can sue for including the original security deposit is maxed at 3x the security deposit, so the punitive damages part comes to 2x the amount of the security.
So I sued this guy. Never heard a word from him. I prepared many, many hours for my court appearance. I had taken another half day off from work to attend a meeting at the SF Tenant's Union where the kind people there 100% assured me I had as slam dunk a case against my landlord as is known to exist. On the day of my trial the defendant my landlord no-showed so I did not even have to present a case, I won all I asked for which with interest and court costs and filing fees came to a little over $4,000. So I now have a judgement of $4,000+ for what originally was only a $1,200 security deposit.
Then the landlord tries some legal maneuvering and challenged the judgement. He was granted a court date to explain why the judgement was not fair, or something like that. I take more time off of work. He no shows AGAIN. Judge tacks another couple of hundred onto the judgement for my having to miss work to come to court again for NO REASON since the landlord no-showed a second time. That second no-show sealed the judgement in my favor. Now, understand there is an ENORMOUS difference between being AWARDED a judgement in the State of California and COLLECTING a judgement in the State of California.
Know this - there are people called Judgement Collectors. I believe they are regulated by the State of California just like a Cosmetologist or a Private Eye would be. I found one online that seemed reputable. Called him up and spoke to him about my case. He told me it would take some time - months, maybe in excess of a year - but he was pretty sure he could collect the totality of the judgement from my landlord on my behalf. His interest would be 50% of the judgement. My interest was he would be doing 100% of the work and I had to do nothing but wait. He seemed like he knew what he was talking about so we drew up an agreement.
What happened eventually is that my judgement collector discovered my landlord had another rental property in Marin County and they garnished the rent - meaning THAT tenant for a period of months had to pay his rent directly to my judgement collector until the entire judgement was satisfied. About 80% of the way to satisfying the judgement, the house this tenant lived in was foreclosed on by the bank because my ex-landlord had stopped making the mortgage payments on it since he was not getting a rent check for x number of months. The ex-landlord had also declared bankruptcy, IIRC. T
his slowed the judgement up, but eventually after the house was sold to a new owner, the remaining 20% of the judgement was collected (not sure who exactly coughed up for it, but someone did, which is all I care about). So I think the entire amount of the judgement with interest came out to around $4,400 of which I got $2,200, and the judgment collector got $2,200. I will withhold certain nouns and adjectives I might use to describe my ex-landlord who put me through all of this **** and I will just say it was EXTREMELY gratifying to play a minor yet decisive role in pushing him into bankruptcy and causing one of his properties to be stripped from his possession. His credit is in RUINS, he lost a property in Marin County which I am sure is worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars, he had to return the totality of my deposit, PLUS an extra $3200. For all I know his wife my have left him over this.
What REALLY ANGERS me to no end, is that this HABITUAL CRIMINAL and THIEF is not presently vacationing in one of our fine state correctional facilities as I type this. This individual is guilty of grand theft. A security deposit is exactly THAT - a DEPOSIT. It is something that never ceases being the property of the TENANT - the landlord is merely HOLDING IT for period of time. It NEVER is actually the LANDLORD'S money, unless repairs need to be made at time of move-out. For the landlord to SEIZE HOLD of that money is a CRIMINAL ACT. It is THEFT. In excess of $500 in the State of California (correct me if the amount is off) that makes it GRAND THEFT - a FELONY. This individual has committed this FELONY numerous times, according the Alameda County court system. Why is he not presently serving a life sentence for a third strike violation? After all, this is NOT his first time - or second time for that matter - of being "convicted" in court of committing this felonious act. Why is that if someone is landlord they have immunity from the criminal prosecution that anyone of us would face if we straight up stole $1,200 from someone's house, or car, or person???
Last edited by Count David; 04-03-2013 at 09:00 AM..
Reason: kinda paragraphed it up for ya
In February 2008 I moved from LA to Oakland for a new job. Moved into a new apartment, security deposit was $1200. Gave my 30 day notice in March of 2009. I moved to a different apartment in Oakland. The landlord was a complete piece of ****. He kept my $1,200 security deposit. He did NOT claim any damages. He simply refused my phone calls and never acknowledged any of my numerous certified mail requests demanding my money.
So I took him to small claims court in Oakland. First thing I did after filing was take half a day off of work and spend it down at the Alameda County Courthouse researching this gentlemen. Turns out no less than FOUR other former tenants had sued this guy for not returning their deposits. Three of the four cases the court found for the tenant. Now, when you sue your landlord for not returning your deposit, you sue for 1) the amount of your deposit 2) up to three times the amount of your deposit for acting in bad faith (aka stealing)(and why would you NOT seek the full 3x amount??) 3) any and all court costs and fees. Actually the full amount you can sue for including the original security deposit is maxed at 3x the security deposit, so the punitive damages part comes to 2x the amount of the security.
So I sued this guy. Never heard a word from him. I prepared many, many hours for my court appearance. I had taken another half day off from work to attend a meeting at the SF Tenant's Union where the kind people there 100% assured me I had as slam dunk a case against my landlord as is known to exist. On the day of my trial the defendant my landlord no-showed so I did not even have to present a case, I won all I asked for which with interest and court costs and filing fees came to a little over $4,000. So I now have a judgement of $4,000+ for what originally was only a $1,200 security deposit.
Then the landlord tries some legal maneuvering and challenged the judgement. He was granted a court date to explain why the judgement was not fair, or something like that. I take more time off of work. He no shows AGAIN. Judge tacks another couple of hundred onto the judgement for my having to miss work to come to court again for NO REASON since the landlord no-showed a second time. That second no-show sealed the judgement in my favor. Now, understand there is an ENORMOUS difference between being AWARDED a judgement in the State of California and COLLECTING a judgement in the State of California.
Know this - there are people called Judgement Collectors. I believe they are regulated by the State of California just like a Cosmetologist or a Private Eye would be. I found one online that seemed reputable. Called him up and spoke to him about my case. He told me it would take some time - months, maybe in excess of a year - but he was pretty sure he could collect the totality of the judgement from my landlord on my behalf. His interest would be 50% of the judgement. My interest was he would be doing 100% of the work and I had to do nothing but wait. He seemed like he knew what he was talking about so we drew up an agreement.
What happened eventually is that my judgement collector discovered my landlord had another rental property in Marin County and they garnished the rent - meaning THAT tenant for a period of months had to pay his rent directly to my judgement collector until the entire judgement was satisfied. About 80% of the way to satisfying the judgement, the house this tenant lived in was foreclosed on by the bank because my ex-landlord had stopped making the mortgage payments on it since he was not getting a rent check for x number of months. The ex-landlord had also declared bankruptcy, IIRC. T
his slowed the judgement up, but eventually after the house was sold to a new owner, the remaining 20% of the judgement was collected (not sure who exactly coughed up for it, but someone did, which is all I care about). So I think the entire amount of the judgement with interest came out to around $4,400 of which I got $2,200, and the judgment collector got $2,200. I will withhold certain nouns and adjectives I might use to describe my ex-landlord who put me through all of this **** and I will just say it was EXTREMELY gratifying to play a minor yet decisive role in pushing him into bankruptcy and causing one of his properties to be stripped from his possession. His credit is in RUINS, he lost a property in Marin County which I am sure is worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars, he had to return the totality of my deposit, PLUS an extra $3200. For all I know his wife my have left him over this.
What REALLY ANGERS me to no end, is that this HABITUAL CRIMINAL and THIEF is not presently vacationing in one of our fine state correctional facilities as I type this. This individual is guilty of grand theft. A security deposit is exactly THAT - a DEPOSIT. It is something that never ceases being the property of the TENANT - the landlord is merely HOLDING IT for period of time. It NEVER is actually the LANDLORD'S money, unless repairs need to be made at time of move-out. For the landlord to SEIZE HOLD of that money is a CRIMINAL ACT. It is THEFT. In excess of $500 in the State of California (correct me if the amount is off) that makes it GRAND THEFT - a FELONY. This individual has committed this FELONY numerous times, according the Alameda County court system. Why is he not presently serving a life sentence for a third strike violation? After all, this is NOT his first time - or second time for that matter - of being "convicted" in court of committing this felonious act. Why is that if someone is landlord they have immunity from the criminal prosecution that anyone of us would face if we straight up stole $1,200 from someone's house, or car, or person???
Cool story.
I've never gotten a deposit back in my renting career.
I don't remember them all, but I remember one in WA that even told me the name of the credit union where he kept my deposit. I never got it back, as he used it on "damages" that we made over 4 months, even sent me a bill for overages.
I've had another landlord use distance as a reason to not return it to me (he made up a loophole, and refused to return calls after that, passed post move-out inspection and everything).
I just consider deposits lost money at this point (can't wait to get out of the renting game), but what you did was pretty interesting.
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