Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

My family and I recently moved out of our old apartment/mobile home that we were renting for 37 months. 13 days later I received our Statement of Deposit Account that turned out to be a bill for $1,165.89 for cost of damage charges. Our $600 deposit has already been deducted (orginally it's $1,765.89) from the bills amount. One of the most expensive charge was the carpet replacement. We're being charged $658.10 even though we stayed there for 3 years and not even once they came and cleaned our carpet, and our rental agreement says it's 0% charge on tenants who stayed for 13+ months.

And the other charges that made me upset is the painting. Our contract says 0% charge to tenants who stayed for more than 24 months. And it's says "Apartment interiors are painted every three years. More frequent painting is beyond normal wear." Their complaint is that theres paintings of crayon drawings on the walls. I knew we were getting charge a 100% of proffessional cleaning for the place because we were told prior to our move out, so I assumed that they will clean the wall or just pain over it (it's just crayons).

I need help on what to tell or show this people proof of same California Law for not following rental aggrements with carpet and painting. Thank you.


Asked on 11/14/10, 2:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Aimee Morris

You should first dispute with your landlord all of the items that the landlord charged with which you disagree you should have been charged. Do this in writing. Keep a copy of the writing for your records. Look at Civil Code Section 1950.5 for more information.

If you dispute these items and you believe your landlord is charging you without authority to do so per the lease or per the law, then you can bring an action in the small claims court. With regard to the condition of the premises, if you contend that there was ordinary wear and tear of the carpet and of the walls, your landlord must be claiming that there was extraordinary wear and tear of the carpet and the walls in order to recover. Ordinary wear and tear is okay and should not be charged to the tenant. Extraordinary is not okay, and should be charged to the tenant. But read the lease and see if it is actually stating what you think it is stating. When in doubt, have an attorney read the lease.

Thus, read the lease and make sure that the carpet charge should be covered even if it has to be replaced. Crayon writing on the wall seems to me to be a little more than ordinary wear and tear on the walls. You might have to prime that wall before it gets painted, so maybe you should pay a little something there. Also, the landlord is supposed to provide you with all sorts of receipts. On those receipts should be names, addresses and phone numbers. If the landlord does the repairs himself, then he needs hours worked and hourly rates on the invoices.

For all sorts of jewels of wisdom, read Civil Code Section 1950.5 which can be located online at the following website:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=civ&group=01001-02000&file=1940-1954.1

Please call me if you have any questions.

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Answered on 11/19/10, 3:57 pm


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