Rental with no security deposit. Left in clean condition, but landlord finicky wants

[roooooor]

What is the name of your state? California

Rental with no security deposit. Left in clean condition, but landlord finicky wants money. What's the redress. There is no rental agreement, just rental application and a receipt for the rent.

Landlord is saying it is not clean here and clean there. I pressured the landlord for a walkthrough when I moved in, but he kept dodging me and never gave me the checklist. By the way, I sayed there only for 1 month. This landlord who didn't want to do the walkthrough when I moved in wanted to do one when I moved out. I agreed. Now he is asking for $800 for nothing. As I said, I didn't pay any security deposit, rent is already paid.

What is my course of action and what is the landlord's course of action. Can he sue me, will this go in my rental record or eviction record or something? What if he goes to Small claims court? Should I be worried? Please let me know.

 

[moburkes]

He can sue you for the damages. You will be able to defend youself in court.

 

[marbol]

He can sue you for the damages. You will be able to defend youself in court.

What damages? He was talking cleaning. I don't know about California, but in Texas, cleanliness is not damages. Normal wear and tear isn't damages either.

In Texas, a renter must get his deposit money back within a certain number of days, along with an itemized receipt detailing the charges that were withheld and why. That would become the basis for any lawsuit.

The OP should probably investigate CA law to see if anything similar exists. My guess is that CA is even more favorable toward renters than TX law is. But that's just a guess

 

[moburkes]

What damages? He was talking cleaning. I don't know about California, but in Texas, cleanliness is not damages. Normal wear and tear isn't damages either.

In Texas, a renter must get his deposit money back within a certain number of days, along with an itemized receipt detailing the charges that were withheld and why. That would become the basis for any lawsuit.

The OP should probably investigate CA law to see if anything similar exists. My guess is that CA is even more favorable toward renters than TX law is. But that's just a guess

OP didn't specifically state exactly what was wrong. You're 100% correct about CA. That doesn't mean that the LL won't sue. It just means that he likely won't win.

Also, OP didn't put down a deposit. (see thread title)