Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
What would be the best course of action to deal with a landlord who may be bending the rules of the lease I signed?
6 months ago, I moved into a rental with two preexisting tenants who are in a romantic relationship. One of the other tenants is a "family friend" of the landlord and has apparently been living in the rental for several years. The second tenant moved in a month before me. The landlord lives out of state.
On the signed agreement date, the prior tenants did not own a pet while I did own a pet, an adult cat, which was listed on my application to rent. The pet policy on the lease agreement I signed states that only one pet is allowed on the premises.
Two months after moving in, the other tenants notified me that they had adopted a kitten, at which point I had forgotten about the pet limit. Additionally, there is a publicly visible Venmo transaction between the other two tenants with the description "Pet deposit" that occurred on the same day they notified me. This transaction would infer that the landlord was aware of the new pet and requested for a deposit.
For personal reasons, I had made the decision today that I will be giving my pet away to a friend. I was looking through the lease for the landlord's contact information to notify them of this change which is when I rediscovered the one pet limit.
The pet policy also states that all tenants are responsible for damages caused by the pet(s). However, since the other tenants brought in a second pet and the landlord was supposedly aware of this additional pet, I don't believe I should be held liable for damages caused by that pet, although I realize trying to prove that my pet didn't cause damage to the property that the other pet did is probably very difficult.
To make matters worse, a move-in checklist was never filled out and signed when I moved in to document the status of the rental. I asked the other tenants about it and was told that they never filled one out, either. I was a bit concerned at the time, but eventually forgot about it until now due to just being busy.
For these reasons, among other personal reasons, I am considering moving out. But if I do move out, I'm afraid that the landlord and/or the other tenants will try to blame me or my pet for damages that were preexisting or caused by the other pet and withhold my security/pet deposit.
Is there any recourse I can take for addressing this situation?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The burden is on the landlord to establish that you are responsible for damage if they withhold the deposit. With no move-in record that will be hard for the landlord to do. But nothing at this point can stop them from trying to hold deposit funds for damages.
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