Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

What is Bad Faith?

I was a renter.

California Civil Code 1950.5 says that the landlord must provide receipts and evidence of cost for cleaning within 21 days.

30 days passed, and no word.

I wrote five letters asking for evidence of cost.

Nothing came: no receipts or bills to justify the alledged cost.

Now the landlord can try to claim they did not know that they were required to do this.

(And I urge you to read this carefully as I need to understand ''Bad Faith.'')

I believe it is possible that the landlords did not feel obligated to provide the receipts.

BUT I TOLD them in five letters that the law says they must.

Their refusal (and other actions such as forging a lease) has led me to believe they had a motive to keep the money.

But what if they were motivated by a fear of my demands for receipts and they refused to provide them for fear of my intent.

In other words, for bad faith, but I also provide a motive? Or can the sum totality of the EFFECT of their actions be sufficient.

In my opinion, they started this by refusnig to provide evidence of cost.


Asked on 3/15/07, 1:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Carl Starrett Law Offices of Carl H. Starrett II

Re: What is Bad Faith?

If your landlord does not return your money on time or if he unjustly withholds some of it, be prepared to assert your rights. Remember, many landlords withhold all security deposits knowing that many tenants will not take the steps to get back their money.

Send a letter to your landlord requesting the money. Give the landlord a deadline date of when you expect the money. If the landlord doesn�t respond within a reasonable time, you can take him/her to Small Claims Court. For a small filing fee, you can sue for up to $7,500. In addition to the disputed money, you can sue for statutory damages for your landlord�s illegally withholding your deposit. Small Claims Court is informal and no lawyers are allowed.

A few weeks after you file a claim, a hearing will be held. You will tell your side of the story and the landlord will tell his/her side. Your written documentation (receipts, inspection report, photos, etc.) will help your case. You must sue in the city where the rental was.

"Bad faith", like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. What you describe sounds like bad faith, but that is for the judge to decide. In addition to the deposit, you can also receive up to twice the amount of the deposit as additional damages in a finding of bad faith. You might mention that in a final demand letter to the landlord.

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Answered on 3/15/07, 2:03 pm


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