Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

If you are saying that the landlord is asking you to pay twice for one month's rent, then, I would start by calling the D.A., and reporting your landlord for fraudulent practices. I am aware of a landlord who is prison right now because the landlord deposited one month's rent check twice.

If you know that you paid that month's rent, there is no way that they can prove that you did not if they lost their financial records. There is no way to tell what a judge will do, but the landlord would have the burden of proof to show, via their lost payment records, that you did not pay your rent. If proved, then you would have the burden to show that you did pay your rent.

The landlord should have a bank account into which these payments are deposited which the landlord could access. If you are sued for nonpayment of rent, I would subpoena these records for purposes of trial.

If the landlord pockets the cash and does not deposit these payment records, then you may want to consider reporting the landlord to the IRS. I understand that the IRS will give people rewards for turning in people/companies who do not report ALL of their income.

If you need any help, please call 619-991-0548.

You do not ahve to pay rent twice for any reason. If the landlord has bad records or no records that is his problem. I would send a letter to the landlord stating that you have aready paid the rent and that you will not repay the rent. If he tries to evict for non-payment of rent the burden will be on him to prove that the rent was not paid. He may try to "create" some records to prove that the rent was not paid so I would gather whatever evidence you can to show that you paid the rent.