Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

You should consider small claims court. If the landlord did not comply with the 21 day requirement to either refund the deposit, or to account for the use of the deposit, then they are liable to you for the entire amount of the deposit without deduction, and possibly penalties for bad-faith retention of the deposit. Unless your deposit is extremely substantial (more than $7,500), then Small Claims Court is the place to go resolve this. The clerk in the Small Claims Court can assist you with filing and serving the action.

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