Security Deposit

[randoggi]

California. I am in dispute with my former landlady over unecessary repairs or damage which was not my fault. She lost my Rental Agreement and had me pre-date another Rental Agreement about a year and a half later. In her Rental Agreement it states on pages one and two of the Addendum, that the Indemnification Deposit shall not be returned under four different situations. Is it legal print that a security deposit is non-refundable? And, could the Judge rule that the landlord held my deposit in bad faith? Especially, if she used my a substantial part of my security deposit to fix some damage to the front of the house which was not caused by me according to a neutral third party painting contractor.

She refused to replace the window screen and eventually I got an insect/mosquito bite which led to a staph infection. I had surgery and suffered great pain.

The hallway and stairwell carpets and bathroom were never cleaned in the four years that I lived there with five different roomates. And, I was slapped with the bill to clean it all up.
Do I have a small claims case worth pursuing? Thanks.

Randy

 

[Banned_Princess]

California. I am in dispute with my former landlady over unecessary repairs or damage which was not my fault. She lost my Rental Agreement and had me pre-date another Rental Agreement about a year and a half later. In her Rental Agreement it states on pages one and two of the Addendum, that the Indemnification Deposit shall not be returned under four different situations. Is it legal print that a security deposit is non-refundable? And, could the Judge rule that the landlord held my deposit in bad faith? Especially, if she used my a substantial part of my security deposit to fix some damage to the front of the house which was not caused by me according to a neutral third party painting contractor.

She refused to replace the window screen and eventually I got an insect/mosquito bite which led to a staph infection. I had surgery and suffered great pain.

The hallway and stairwell carpets and bathroom were never cleaned in the four years that I lived there with five different roomates. And, I was slapped with the bill to clean it all up.
Do I have a small claims case worth pursuing? Thanks.

Randy

I would purse it, In CA if the judge rules she kept the deposit in bad faith, you can get 3x the deposit back.

Here is a partial paragraph from the LL TENENT HANDBOOK FROM CA... (in part)

BaSic rULeS goVerNiNg SecUritY dePoSitS


At the beginning of the tenancy, the landlord most likely will require you to pay a security deposit. the landlord can use the security deposit, for example, if you move out owing rent, damage the rental unit beyond normal wear and tear, or leave the rental less clean than when you moved in.

87
under California law, a lease or rental agreement cannot say that a security deposit is nonrefundable.88 this means that when the tenancy ends, the landlord must return to you any payment that is a security deposit, unless the landlord properly uses the deposit for a lawful purpose, as described on pages 26 and 53–65.


Almost all landlords charge tenants a security deposit. the security deposit may be called last month’s rent, security deposit, pet deposit, key fee, or cleaning fee. the security deposit may be a combination, for example, of the last month’s rent plus a specific amount for security. no matter what these payments or fees are called, the law considers them all, as well as any other deposit or charge, to be part of the security deposit.89 the one exception to this rule is stated in the next paragraph.

Ok well here is the booklet.


http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf

 

[CourtClerk]

I would purse it, In CA if the judge rules she kept the deposit in bad faith, you can get 3x the deposit back.

Here is a partial paragraph from the LL TENENT HANDBOOK FROM CA... (in part)





Ok well here is the booklet.


http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf

Posting Hx**************...

 

[Banned_Princess]

Ok, so the guy has a few problems...

Is he secretely spamming us?

 

[sandyclaus]

California. I am in dispute with my former landlady over unecessary repairs or damage which was not my fault. She lost my Rental Agreement and had me pre-date another Rental Agreement about a year and a half later. In her Rental Agreement it states on pages one and two of the Addendum, that the Indemnification Deposit shall not be returned under four different situations. Is it legal print that a security deposit is non-refundable? And, could the Judge rule that the landlord held my deposit in bad faith? Especially, if she used my a substantial part of my security deposit to fix some damage to the front of the house which was not caused by me according to a neutral third party painting contractor.

She refused to replace the window screen and eventually I got an insect/mosquito bite which led to a staph infection. I had surgery and suffered great pain.

The hallway and stairwell carpets and bathroom were never cleaned in the four years that I lived there with five different roomates. And, I was slapped with the bill to clean it all up.
Do I have a small claims case worth pursuing? Thanks.

Randy

As far as your challenges to the security deposit deductions, here is my layman's opinion:

The LL cannot use the SD funds to repair damage to the property that was pre-existing or which you did not cause. That would be a valid challenge, and you would need proof from that 3rd party painting contractor.

Regarding the mosquito bite gone wrong, if you knew that the screen was missing, you had a duty to mitigate your damage potential. Use of insect repellent or other methods to prevent the mosquitoes from being a problem. Plus, can you prove for a fact that home was where the mosquito bite occurred, and that the mosquito entered through the screenless window and not the door? This one is debatable, and likely not an argument you would win.

Finally, the hallway & stairway carpet and bathroom cleaning is all on you. You admittedly never cleaned those yourself in the 4 years you lived there. DIRT IS NOT CONSIDERED WEAR & TEAR. . You would be responsible for leaving the rental exactly as you found it. And you would need to prove that the condition in which you left it was exactly the same as when you moved in.