Setteling outside of Court for withheld deposit

[LlikeLaura]

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

I am suing my ex-landlord for $350 deposit which he withheld. I may have left my bed when I moved out, but he told me "don't worry about it, because the new tenant might want it". After 2 months I had not received a deposit or letter stating what he was withholding. According to the law he had to provide me with either 21 days after my moving out. I went by the old place and he refused that this was his responsibility and argued that I had made the room unrentable. I filed it in small claims and now he has offered me $200. My question is would you take it or do I have better chances of getting the full amount in small claims? According to the law he forfeits his right to withhold anything if he didn't provide me with an itemized letter 21 days after my moving out, and I want to prove my point since I feel he acted in bad faith and took advantage since he thought I would not come back for it.

 

[swalsh411]

You have to decide how much $150 is worth to you. Nobody can make that call but you.

 

[Zigner]

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

I am suing my ex-landlord for $350 deposit which he withheld. I may have left my bed when I moved out, but he told me "don't worry about it, because the new tenant might want it". After 2 months I had not received a deposit or letter stating what he was withholding. According to the law he had to provide me with either 21 days after my moving out. I went by the old place and he refused that this was his responsibility and argued that I had made the room unrentable. I filed it in small claims and now he has offered me $200. My question is would you take it or do I have better chances of getting the full amount in small claims? According to the law he forfeits his right to withhold anything if he didn't provide me with an itemized letter 21 days after my moving out, and I want to prove my point since I feel he acted in bad faith and took advantage since he thought I would not come back for it.

Sorry, the crystal ball is out for repair.
I will tell you that, even though you have a claim for the deposit, the LL has a claim to recover any damages you may have caused. I don't know the full details of your case, but it's entirely possible that you can end up walking out of the court room owing money.

 

[justalayman]

According to the law he forfeits his right to withhold anything if he didn't provide me with an itemized letter 21 days after my moving out

, actually, there is more to the law than that. He cannot lawfully withhold any of your deposit if he fails to comply with the requirements noted BUT he can file suit to make a claim to any damages he cares to make a claim for. That means, if you file for a return of your deposit, he can file a counterclaim for any claims he so chooses to make.

and I want to prove my point since I feel he acted in bad faith and took advantage since he thought I would not come back for it.

that, in itself, is not indicative of bad faith actions. If he has a valid claim, then money he withheld is not necessarily held in bad faith, even if he had not complied with the requirements of the law. That would be up to a court to determine.

 

[LlikeLaura]

To Justalayman- thank you for your answer. Well, the bad faith came in when I approached him about my letter or deposit he refused to provide me with it, and simply answered it was responsibility as tenant to clear the room. I asked him to call me at a later time(because he couldnt talk at the time), which he didn't. So I finally called and he kept arguing that I "held the room hostage" and he couldn't rent it out. ALTHOUGH he told the other tenant (who is my friend) to tell me to not worry about it. HE finally suggested I take it to small claims then. Which I did. Now that I served him, he wants to settle. He was being really stubborn about it all until I filed it officially. He kept insisting that he didnt have to provide me with anything, no letter, no deposit, nothing. Because I had given up any right due to leaving my bed. Thats where I got the bad faith argument from.
I am aware of the counterclaim he can make. and to Zigner- I only left the bed in the room. I left the room cleaner and made sure all the minor holes I had made were covered up also. I have pictures of the room as I left to back up that it was only the bed-issue. I am aware that sometimes u get charged a cleaning fee no matter what.

In the end, yes, I need the money, and $150 is a chunk of money for me as a student. In addition to the extra $30 that I put into filing the case. I'm just scared I might end up with nothing at all.