Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

my husband, dog and I were staying in a motel (Paying monthly). We gave them a $400 deposit. After being there for 3 months we decided to move into a room across the hall because it was larger. About 3 weeks later my husband and I noticed we were waking up with numerous bites all over. During the middle of one night I woke up, lifted my pillow and saw a flat reddish bug (which I captured in a jar) Looking online I discovered this was bed bugs. When we told the front desk of this they said that we had brought them there and that we needed to leave. When we went to get our deposit back they said we weren't getting it back because our dog chewed on the window frame. (this was like this when we moved into the room.) Since they wouldn't give us our deposit back we were totally homeless for a week until my husband got his paycheck. We now have to spend who knows how much money to have all of our belongings fumigated or throw them away. We reported them to the Better Business Buero and also reported them to the Health Department. When the lady at the Health Dept went to investigate the room she said that she didn't notice any signs of bed bugs but the mattress was to large to be moved by herself so she couldn't check it thoroughly. Yesterday a friend of ours that is staying there told us that they replaced the mattress in that room with a new one. We are wondering if there is anyway we can be compensated for all of this. It has literally been a nightmare. Now to top things off My husband called them to try to reason with them and they again told him we weren't getting our deposit back and that we actually owed them money and sent it out to collections. I thought collections was for when you were late paying and not paying?!?! They Never even notified us of this and sent it straight to collections. Please someone let us know what our rights are and if there is anything that can be done? Thank You


Asked on 11/10/09, 1:52 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Timothy O'Donnell Law Offices of Timothy J. O'Donnell

You can file a small claims action to recover your deposit and for the damages done to your possessions due to the hotel's infestation. Hotel owners and operators owe their guest a duty to make the rooms sanitary and fit for ordinary living conditions.

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Answered on 11/16/09, 1:54 am


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