Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Who legally gets a refund of the security deposit?

We have a small duplex that we rent out.

One renter, ''Brad'', has been there for 8 years. His

friend ''Gary'' wanted to move into the other side of the

duplex.

Gary's application was fine, so we entered into an

agreement with Gary for the other side of the duplex.

Gary was not able to swing the security deposit, so

Brad wrote a check to me, for Gary, to cover the security

deposit.

I accepted the check as Gary's security deposit, even

though Brad wrote the check. I wrote the receipt to Gary.

I know that because they were friends, Brad expected

Gary to repay him .

Less than a year later, Gary --a good tenant-- gave

notice and moved. We have to replace a lock, shampoo

carpets, spackle nail holes, and re-paint two walls that

look like some kind of gravy exploded on it.

The problem: Brad thinks I owe HIM the security

deposit money because he paid it for Gary.

I say my agreement was with Gary, and their personal

financial arrangement puts me out of the picture.

I have to wait until Gary is back in the USA in order to

give the deposit (minus $ for repairs) to him, per Gary's

request.

I believe we are not obligated to give Brad the money. Is

this correct?


Asked on 2/04/06, 2:54 pm

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

Re: Who legally gets a refund of the security deposit?

As you correctly observed, you agreement is with "Gary" and not "Brad". Unless you had a specific arrangement with Brad that you would return the money to him rather than Gary, you should only deal with Gary. For you you know, Gary may have already paid the loan back to Brad.

However, you should be sensitive to the possibiliy of losing Brad as a tenant. If Brad takes you to small claims court, file a countersuit against Gary.

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Answered on 2/04/06, 3:03 pm


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