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California - Deposit Return Issues

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Daveprozac

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Ok I have a few issues and let me start by first saying that this whole situation feels very wrong to me at the moment although it may just be me over reacting. Secondly, please only provide information if you know it to be true, either from a legal standpoint or if you have experience in these matters; while I appreciate the passion and fire people display when it comes to these matters, in this situation it could cost me a lot of money, so facts only please.

Background: I moved into an apartment and paid a $855 deposit to the original owner, this included pet deposit and key deposit. There were 2 cats who lived in the apartment. The contract I signed was a month to month rental agreement. The complex that we lived in was sold to another owner about half way through my tenancy. I gave a 30 day notice and cleaned the heck out of the apartment before I vacated the premises on the 20th of June; it was in better condition than when I moved in. Today I received an envelope post marked on the 9th of July containing an invoice and receipts for cleaning but no returned deposit check. The property manager has my deposit listed at $890, this is the first thing that threw me off, and is charging me a total of $182.50 for the following: Apartment Clean $47.50, (receipt)De Flea $35, Deodorize $35, Carpet Clean $65. Now on the receipt for what I am assuming is the carpet clean (it is not made clear) there is a charge for $95 not the $65 clean + $35 deodorize, this is the second thing that threw me off. The third thing that is making me feel uncomfortable is that the Apt Clean item has no hours attributed to it and no hourly cost (this item is not on a separate receipt and is not under the portion of the invoice that states "work performed by owner or agent") .

Problem: I cleaned the heck out of that place and left it in better condition than when I moved in, according to CA Civil Code 1950 the requirement for a manager charging you is to restore the unit to the condition it was in when it was moved into; so I really think all of these charges are unnecessary and to be honest, fraudulent. Unfortunately, and this is 100% my fault, I did not take pictures on either end of the exchange.

Questions:
1. Can the landlord charge for a de flea treatment if there is not a flea infestation? If so, can they charge me considering it was never done before I moved in?

2. Can they Charge me for "cleaning" the apartment if it was left in an equal or greater state of cleanliness than when I moved in? (a dumb question but I want to make sure my bases are covered)

3. Can they charge for the carpet cleaning if the carpet was in equal or or greater state of cleanliness than when I moved in? (if anyone knows for sure what the required replacement interval for carpet is in CA I would appreciate it).

4. Can they charge for the deodorization of the carpet even though it was being cleaned? I assumed that the deodorization occurred from the carpet being cleaned. =P

5. If I do receive the check in the prescribed time but feel that the charges are excessive or fraudulent how should I proceed if the manager refuses to refund any of the charges? (small claims realistic?)

5. If the check arrives post marked after the 21 day window can I request my entire deposit be returned? If so will it really hold up in small claims court? Don't need to throw threats around if I am going to go into court and wind up owing them legal fees.

6. Considering that ownership changed during my tenancy, and I was never informed that my deposit was being taken over by the new owner, do they have the right to withhold the money?

7. Shortly after the change in ownership my rent was raised but I never signed a new lease/rental agreement; is that legal?

Any and all help is much appreciated.
 


Gail in Georgia

Senior Member
1. Can the landlord charge for a de flea treatment if there is not a flea infestation? If so, can they charge me considering it was never done before I moved in?

Yes; flea treatment is often done between rentals when a former tenant has had pets.

2. Can they Charge me for "cleaning" the apartment if it was left in an equal or greater state of cleanliness than when I moved in? (a dumb question but I want to make sure my bases are covered)

Do you have pictures of the cleanliness of the apartment at move in and move out?

3. Can they charge for the carpet cleaning if the carpet was in equal or or greater state of cleanliness than when I moved in? (if anyone knows for sure what the required replacement interval for carpet is in CA I would appreciate it).

Same question as #2

4. Can they charge for the deodorization of the carpet even though it was being cleaned? I assumed that the deodorization occurred from the carpet being cleaned. =P

Deodorization is, again, typically done when a former tenant has had pets.

5. If I do receive the check in the prescribed time but feel that the charges are excessive or fraudulent how should I proceed if the manager refuses to refund any of the charges? (small claims realistic?)

Most of these lawsuits are handled in Small Claims court as they typically involve small amounts of money being disputed.

5. If the check arrives post marked after the 21 day window can I request my entire deposit be returned? If so will it really hold up in small claims court? Don't need to throw threats around if I am going to go into court and wind up owing them legal fees.

Yes, you can certainly consider a lawsuit.

6. Considering that ownership changed during my tenancy, and I was never informed that my deposit was being taken over by the new owner, do they have the right to withhold the money?

Security deposits are to be rolled over to the new owners who are now responsible for these.

7. Shortly after the change in ownership my rent was raised but I never signed a new lease/rental agreement; is that legal?

You had a month to month tenancy. Unless you resided in a rent controlled area in California, the following applies to rent increases under this type of tenancy:

RENT INCREASES
How often can rent be raised?

If you have a lease for more than 30 days, your rent cannot be increased during the term of the lease, unless the lease allows rent increases.

If you have a periodic rental agreement, your landlord can increase your rent, but the landlord must give you proper advance notice in writing. The written notice tells you how much the increased rent is and when the increase goes into effect.

California law guarantees you at least 30 days' advance written notice of a rent increase if you have a month-to-month (or shorter) periodic rental agreement.

Under the law, your landlord must give you at least 30 days' advance notice if the rent increase is 10 percent (or less) of the rent charged at any time during the 12 months before the rent increase takes effect. Your landlord must give you at least 60 days' advance notice if the rent increase is greater than 10 percent.101 In order to calculate the percentage of the rent increase, you need to know the lowest rent that your landlord charged you during the preceding 12 months, and the total of the new increase and all other increases during that period.

Normally, in the case of a periodic rental agreement, the landlord can increase the rent as often as the landlord likes. However, the landlord must give proper advance written notice of the increase, and the increase cannot be retaliatory (see Retaliatory Actions, Evictions and Discrimination). Local rent control ordinances may impose additional requirements on the landlord.

Increases in rent for government-financed housing usually are restricted. If you live in government-financed housing, check with the local public housing authority to find out whether there are any restrictions on rent increases.

Rent increase; notice and effective date

A landlord's notice of rent increase must be in writing. The landlord can deliver a copy of the notice to you personally.

The landlord also can give you a notice of rent increase by first class mail. In this case, the landlord must mail a copy of the notice to you, with proper postage, addressed to you at the rental unit. The landlord must give you an additional five days' advance notice of the rent increase if the landlord mails the notice. Therefore, the landlord would have to give you at least 35 days' notice from the date of mailing if the rent increase is 10 percent or less. If the rent increase is more than 10 percent, the landlord would have to give you at least 65 days' notice from the date of mailing.

Gail
 

sandyclaus

Senior Member
Use of Deposits

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Ok I have a few issues and let me start by first saying that this whole situation feels very wrong to me at the moment although it may just be me over reacting. Secondly, please only provide information if you know it to be true, either from a legal standpoint or if you have experience in these matters; while I appreciate the passion and fire people display when it comes to these matters, in this situation it could cost me a lot of money, so facts only please.

Background: I moved into an apartment and paid a $855 deposit to the original owner, this included pet deposit and key deposit. There were 2 cats who lived in the apartment. The contract I signed was a month to month rental agreement. The complex that we lived in was sold to another owner about half way through my tenancy. I gave a 30 day notice and cleaned the heck out of the apartment before I vacated the premises on the 20th of June; it was in better condition than when I moved in. Today I received an envelope post marked on the 9th of July containing an invoice and receipts for cleaning but no returned deposit check. The property manager has my deposit listed at $890, this is the first thing that threw me off, and is charging me a total of $182.50 for the following: Apartment Clean $47.50, (receipt)De Flea $35, Deodorize $35, Carpet Clean $65. Now on the receipt for what I am assuming is the carpet clean (it is not made clear) there is a charge for $95 not the $65 clean + $35 deodorize, this is the second thing that threw me off. The third thing that is making me feel uncomfortable is that the Apt Clean item has no hours attributed to it and no hourly cost (this item is not on a separate receipt and is not under the portion of the invoice that states "work performed by owner or agent") .

Problem: I cleaned the heck out of that place and left it in better condition than when I moved in, according to CA Civil Code 1950 the requirement for a manager charging you is to restore the unit to the condition it was in when it was moved into; so I really think all of these charges are unnecessary and to be honest, fraudulent. Unfortunately, and this is 100% my fault, I did not take pictures on either end of the exchange.

Questions:
1. Can the landlord charge for a de flea treatment if there is not a flea infestation? If so, can they charge me considering it was never done before I moved in?

2. Can they Charge me for "cleaning" the apartment if it was left in an equal or greater state of cleanliness than when I moved in? (a dumb question but I want to make sure my bases are covered)

3. Can they charge for the carpet cleaning if the carpet was in equal or or greater state of cleanliness than when I moved in? (if anyone knows for sure what the required replacement interval for carpet is in CA I would appreciate it).

4. Can they charge for the deodorization of the carpet even though it was being cleaned? I assumed that the deodorization occurred from the carpet being cleaned. =P

5. If I do receive the check in the prescribed time but feel that the charges are excessive or fraudulent how should I proceed if the manager refuses to refund any of the charges? (small claims realistic?)

5. If the check arrives post marked after the 21 day window can I request my entire deposit be returned? If so will it really hold up in small claims court? Don't need to throw threats around if I am going to go into court and wind up owing them legal fees.

6. Considering that ownership changed during my tenancy, and I was never informed that my deposit was being taken over by the new owner, do they have the right to withhold the money?

7. Shortly after the change in ownership my rent was raised but I never signed a new lease/rental agreement; is that legal?

Any and all help is much appreciated.
The last poster is right on target. Here's more:

The unit must be left in the same condition as when you found it. No better. The LL cannot be unjustly enriched by charging you to improve the condition of your unit. That being said, did the former owner do a move-in checklist with you to identify the condition? Pictures taken? Did you request a final walk-thru from the new owner before you left to verify the condition at move-out? Again, did you take pictures? Keep receipts for any cleaning you did/had done?

The steps above are highly recommended to prevent the all-too-common scam of LLs charging for improvement to the unit for damages or for things other than normal wear & tear. Some LLs do this as a standard policy anyway, regardless of whether the unit condition requires it to return it to the same condition as when rented to the tenant. This is especially true when pets are involved, they just have their laundry list of things done "for good measure". Just because you have pets does not make these things necessary, especially if you cleaned thoroughly and properly when you left, but LLs will insist anyway - and often charge for it even if they didn't do the work (the "why" behind actual receipts/invoices).

I agree about those questionable charges the LL lists on their accounting. You are entitled to actual receipts (if LL did work) and/or invoices (if LL hired someone to do it) for all deductible expenses. The changing figures are a good example of why. Write a demand letter (CM/RRR) to get the actual receipts that go with that accounting. LL has 14 days from the day he receives the letter to comply.

If you still aren't satisfied with the results, then by all means, you should consider suing. CA law allows for the judge to make decisions on the proper use of the rental deposit, and if the LL is unable to prove his deductions are justified, he must return the ENTIRE deposit.

Check out the California Dept of Consumer Affairs Landlord-Tenant Handbook online for more info on this, including the definition of normal wear & tear, appropriate deductions, determination of replacement costs, etc. This is where I got my info.
 

Daveprozac

Junior Member
No pictures were taken unfortunately.

Was also wondering if by law I should have been required to sign a new renatl/lease agreement when the ownership changed cause I never did.

The de-flea was NOT done before we moved though, so technically we are returning the unit in the same condition; is that a valid argument for why we should not pay for the de-flea?

If I do go to smalls claims court, can the landlord charge me for legal fees if he/she wins?

@Gail - You said I could consider suing if the landlord does not provide the return deposit within the 21 day time period. What if she sends it say 3 days after the window, is that enough time or does it need to be a longer period of time for it to really hold up?
 
Last edited:

CA LL

Senior Member
FYI, the accounting only needs to be POSTMARKED by 21 days. NO JUDGE will find bad faith if 1-2 days later! Not sure why the check is not in there..could be processed by central office or oversight but I'm sure a quick call followed by a written "demand" should be sufficient. You MUST send a demand before initiating any court action.

So you got "credit" for MORE deposit than you think you paid? That could be corrected/reversed if anything challenged..you are already AHEAD of the game here.

You got charged only $47 for cleaning which is likely only for one or two items that were overlooked. You can request hour and hourly rate for this unless the charge was from a vendor..but I don't think it's worth it since you got extra credit somehow for almost that much.

There is NO such thing as key or pet deposit in CA. All deposit is security deposit and must be accounted for as such.

Read closely your rental agreement as I suspect any further answers are covered here. These charges seem MINOR and very reasonable. AND NO, you are not required to sign a new rental agreement when with new owner or with a new rental amount. There also may be interest involved IF in certain rent control areas.
 

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