Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

When you give the keys back to your landlord, you should always politely confirm in writing that the lease is at a conclusion, that you gave your keys back, that you owe no rent, that you left the premises just as you found it except ordinary wear and tear, that you expect the landlord to account for your security deposit within 21 days as is required by law, and that your forwarding address is as follows:__________.

Assuming you did these things, the landlord may have continued with an eviction proceeding in your absence and obtained a judgment. You need to determine whether an unlawful detainer judgment was entered against you, and if so, you may want to set aside the judgment.

If no judgment was entered against you, then you need to dispute the eviction notice with the 3 major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian & Transunion. If the landlord fails to respond to the credit bureaus regarding your dispute, then the notation will be taken off of your credit report.

If the landlord responds to the credit bureaus that the eviction notice was validly given, then you need to present copies your old records to the credit bureaus showing that you gave notice and moved out on your own volition. You may need to bring a court action for declaratory relief to have the eviction notice removed from your credit reports. If you had an attorney fee provision in your lease, you can request your attorney fees for having to bring the declaratory relief action. Hopefully, you saved your lease, your 30-day notice, and all other correspondence with your landlord confirming your voluntary move out with the proper notice, confirming that you owe no further rent, etc.

A carefully worded letter from an attorney could be helpful both in dealing with the credit bureau dispute and in dealing with the landlord.

San Diego Attorney Aimee Morris may be reached at (619)991-0548.