Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I moved into a rental house with 2 of my friends in March 2010. I payed half of the deposit which was $1000 all together, my half was $500. Due to reoccurring violoence I decided to move out on 01/01/2011. I gave written 30 day notice and my forwarding address. I never received any mail from the landlord or the tenants that stayed. I have been trying to get my deposit back for 5 months now. At first the tenants said they couldn't pay it at the momant, now they just flat out refuse to pay me back. I have tried conntacting the landlord, he owns the property and rents it out, but he says they told him they returned it to me and he will no longer take my calls. i would like to sue but I don't know if I am suppose to sue the owner of the property or the so called friends of mine who still live there. We all originally signed the same rental agreement together and only I moved out. Please help.


Asked on 5/24/11, 5:20 pm

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

You would need an attorney to look at the lease to determine if the three of you rented the place as basically a single unit of renters or each of you are separate renters. if the three of you rented the place as one tenant, then it is your friends who owe you the security deposit. If you all were separate renters, then the landlord would owe the security deposit to you. if the landlord owes the money to you, then since he did not return it within 21 days, you could get all the deposit plus up to $1,000 more as a penalty.

Your problem is going to be the cost of figuring out what the situation is. Most attorneys would charge about $250-300 per hour; charge $100 per hour because I am semi-retired.

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Answered on 5/24/11, 6:35 pm


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