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No written rental agreement

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Svurt

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? CA

Who does the law generally favor when there is no written rental agreement in the following situation:

I (sublessee) was a few days late paying rent twice. I've since moved out and now the sublessor is trying to keep the security deposit, citing daily late fees.

I did not agree to any late-fee penalty system for late payment of rent. Does CA law default to it somehow? Even if the sublessor believes I did, and there is no written record of my agreeing to it, should I be reasonably confident I will win the small claims judgment, without the case devolving into a ''my word against his'' fiasco?

Thanks very much.
 


FarmerJ

Senior Member
When people rent month to month with no written lease there is no way to enforce late fees since there is no written contract . If you dispute what is held back from a deposit then small claims court is where you must go to ask the court to have the LL prove you agreed to pay late fees .
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
Svurt said:
What is the name of your state? CA

Who does the law generally favor when there is no written rental agreement in the following situation:

I (sublessee) was a few days late paying rent twice. I've since moved out and now the sublessor is trying to keep the security deposit, citing daily late fees.

I did not agree to any late-fee penalty system for late payment of rent. Does CA law default to it somehow? Even if the sublessor believes I did, and there is no written record of my agreeing to it, should I be reasonably confident I will win the small claims judgment, without the case devolving into a ''my word against his'' fiasco?

Thanks very much.
**A: you are correct in that it is a fiasco.
 

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