Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
Thank you Tim!
I am reporting because I think it would be wise to add more detail.
Our landlord is not willing to give us any of our depsit back even after his list of deductions did not total 2000. We asked for receipts for his deductions because we believe he charged us an unreasonable amount for parts for the house. He did not send a list of deductions until 3 months after I had moved out and said he would only return the deposit if we all hand wrote a letter saying we accept the deductions and our total deposit would be around 650. He charged us items that were in perfect working condition and were in the same condition as when we moved in. However, we did not want to deal with the hassel so, we all agree and he still has not sent our remaining deposit. I have tried to contact him via calling,texting, emailing around 50 times and he responded only once saying have my lawyer contact him in a week to resolve the matter.
He is stating its an owner occupied house and rents it out. He has his mail sent to the house and frequently stopped by with out notice to pick up his mail or check up on the house and would stay on the premise for up to an hour talking about non sense and bothering us constantly.�
One of my roomates did violate our lease agreement and brought a dog in. She also let her boyfriend move in with out the rest of our conscent on either issue. We talked with her constantly about everything and said we do not want her to keep the dog or just have her boyfriend be able to stay but would not listen. It caused tension between us all but that did occur during our stay in his rental house. There is no physical proof he knew of the dog although he saw it many times because he collected his mail every few weeks
Another note after our lease terminated our landlord let 2 of my former roomates stay for an extra month and they paid 1300 and not the 2550 we all had to pay.
I only gave my landlord An 18 day Written notice of moving out although I told him face to face I was moving out a month and a half prior to the lease termination.
He sent an email saying he did not take controll of the premise until after my roomates moved one month later.
Doesnt he technically have controll of the premise once our lease ends? Do I have a case in small claims?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If you wish Mr. McCormick to answer this supplemental question you should send it directly to his personal e-mail. He has not answered the posting yet so it likely he will not unless yo e-mail him directly.
A landlord does not regain possession of the unit until all tenants are out and the keys have been returned or the locks changed. As long as someone is in the unit or can get in with a key, how could he be in sole possession of the unit? The 18 day written notice was inadequate as it must be 30 days or more; oral notice is insufficient because it can be easily disputed as to whether it was given or not so the Code requires it be in writing. He lost $1,250 in rent for that additional month. If all of you signed the lease together, then you are all liable for the acts of the other, including the extra damage caused by the dog and the boyfriend. You should have immediately told the landlord of the breaches.
He should have given you a detailed list of the deductions he made from your deposit, including for rent not paid, but if you sue he can bring cross-complain for that as damages even if he waived the claim by not complying with the 21 day requirement. An attorney would need more information to guess at whether you have a reasonably good chance of winning on a small claims court suit.
not proof read
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