Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Under California law, you can request a "walk-through" with your landlord prior to move-out, in which the landlord or his/her agent must identify any area where they intend to charge you for damage exceeding normal wear & tear. You do not get out from under the requirement that you surrender possession in the same or better condition than when you rented it just because there was no move-in inspection. This means that the property must be clean, depending upon how long you lived there, carpets may need to be cleaned, holes patched in walls and painted to match, any damage repaired, etc... The lack of a move-in inspection just means that you will both (you and the landlord) have a harder time proving what the condition of the property was when you moved in. This generally goes in favor of the landlord, unless you have pictures or other concrete proof of the condition when you moved in. If you request the walk-through prior to moving, then you will know in advance what they intend to charge you for, and can do further work or cleaning to ensure that you get your deposit back.

*Due to the limitations of the LawGuru Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence. As required by 11 U.S.C. �528, we must now disclose that, "We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. Assistance we provide with respect to Debt Relief may involve bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."