Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

hi i have court tomorrow in ramona ca small clames court. my previous landlord is sueing me for $400 . it was a month to month contract. long story short i gave notice i had to move due to couldnt afford the rent. when i moved in i gave a total of 1500 hundred first and deposit .i cleaned the plave really good did carpets with a machine. i paid most of the rent but was short $200 i asked him to work with me cause i was loosing hours at work . we did the walk out he said the place looked really great . HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT CARPET AND DIDNT BELIEVE WHEN I SAID MY DOG didnt mess all over it. he got on his hands and knees and sniffed every corner of the carpet in the room and he told me wow i didnt know u could train a dog to not do his business all over. anyhow he said to me just get me the $ 200 that i owe him then he will give me my deposit back . i ended up loosing job and car broke so things got bad for me . a week after our walk out he called me on the phone said the carpet was destroyed and it smelled like pee and there was poop on carpet. now he sueing me for carpet and what i owe. i was counting on deposit from him to give to new landlord but had to move again cause no money. anyways i should have taken pictures but i wasnt thinking right. i did a really good job cleaning that was dumb on my part . does he have the right to not give me deposit and will he win in court tomorrow ? why could he not just take what i owe him from deposit? times are tuff i need any advice u can give as soon as possible. someone told me even if i owe back rent he had no right to with hold the whole deposit . please help my head hurts and never had to go through a situation like this before. thank u


Asked on 8/04/11, 3:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

Why wait until the last minute?

The landlord is only entitled to withhold that part of the security deposit that is needed to cover rent owed and damages beyond normal wear and tear. The rest must be returned within 21 days of the tenant giving up possession. failure to do so can result in the court imposing twice the amount owed to the tenant and any amount not covered by the written explanation.

You have to testify in a fashion to convince the judge that the carpet was clean and the landlord when he inspected it agreed. What proof does he have that it was not; did he take nay pictures, make notes, or ever tell you it was not clean?

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Answered on 8/04/11, 9:54 pm


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