Ca Security Deposit Issue

[eshbaum]

L.A. County, California.

I recently moved out of an apartment after 2.6 years, and before moving out my landlord specifically told me to not clean the walls because the type of paint he used marks very easily and any cleaning products used will leave residue and further mark the paint, and said to not worry because he has a good painter that will take care of it all. Then during the walkthrough, which he did by himself before I got there at the agreed upon time, he pointed out 2 porcelain tiles that needed to be replaced and 3 mini blinds that had broken pieces. I agreed with the tiles and blinds and signed the paper and split. When I received the deposit check in the mail it was only $220 out of $1000 and he deducted:
$480 for paint
$150 for 3 Mini Blinds
$150 for 5 Porcelain Tiles.
He is obviously overcharging for the blinds and tiles, and that is more than the agreed upon tiles with no follow up to me. Is he legally allowed to do this or can I fight him on the costs on those deductions, especially the tiles, and fight the charge for paint since he told me not to clean it since it was only marks from my sofa rubbing against it or just some dirt from like hand prints? I called him and he will send out receipts but I don't know how long it will take him to do so but I know those tiles were at most $40 for a full box of them

 

[Just Blue]

L.A. County, California.

I recently moved out of an apartment after 2.6 years, and before moving out my landlord specifically told me to not clean the walls because the type of paint he used marks very easily and any cleaning products used will leave residue and further mark the paint, and said to not worry because he has a good painter that will take care of it all. Then during the walkthrough, which he did by himself before I got there at the agreed upon time, he pointed out 2 porcelain tiles that needed to be replaced and 3 mini blinds that had broken pieces. I agreed with the tiles and blinds and signed the paper and split. When I received the deposit check in the mail it was only $220 out of $1000 and he deducted:
$480 for paint
$150 for 3 Mini Blinds
$150 for 5 Porcelain Tiles.
He is obviously overcharging for the blinds and tiles, and that is more than the agreed upon tiles with no follow up to me. Is he legally allowed to do this or can I fight him on the costs on those deductions, especially the tiles, and fight the charge for paint since he told me not to clean it since it was only marks from my sofa rubbing against it or just some dirt from like hand prints? I called him and he will send out receipts but I don't know how long it will take him to do so but I know those tiles were at most $40 for a full box of them

Did you smoke (anything) in the apartment?

 

[eshbaum]

Did you smoke (anything) in the apartment?

Nope, I dont smoke at all, neither did any of my guests

 

[adjusterjack]

I know those tiles were at most $40 for a full box of them

But what you don't know is that the other $110 is the cost of labor and experience to remove the old ones and install the new ones. Same with the mini-blinds. $50 each is reasonable. And there is labor involved in taking down the old and hanging the new.

marks from my sofa rubbing against it or just some dirt from like hand prints

That's damage. Even if you could clean it off, the rest of the wall would be a different color. You would have to clean every inch of every wall. A cleaning company could easily charge several hundred dollars to do it.

 

[STEPHAN]

Mini blinds are inexpensive. Also, they need to be prorated. They usually last three years. How old were they when you moved in?

 

[FarmerJ]

You lived there for over two years , Your LL should not charge you for repainting ONLY hole filling and any areas where the walls were stained and required pa primer to hide / seal the stains , During your time there you used the useful life of the paint up, Your LL is wrong about washing walls because even if all someone does its uses hot water and sponges or wash rags the walls would be cleaner than nothing being done SO I suggest you send the LL a certified letter and in that letter tell the LL you think his charging you to repaint is unfair since you used up the paints useful life during your tenancy and you would have no problem finding out if a judge also thinks its unfair.