Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I rent an apartment in a complex and I was subleting a room to a person. We had an oral agreement that she would pay me $475 dollars for rent per month and her share of the bills. She was not listed in the lease agreement, altough that is a rule at the Complex where I rent.

For a security deposit, she relunctantly gave me equivalent to $200 dollars in a FOREIGN currency cash. I never signed a receipt or an agreement, all our agreements were oral and without any witnesses.

After having her living with me for 5 months, I announced to her that there was a possibility that I was going to return the apartment to the Complex within a week because I was afraid that I was not going to be able to keep the apartment anymore.

She said I had to give her 30 days notice and I said I could not give her 30 days notice if I was not going to rent he apartment for another 30 days and I was going to move out within a week as well.

She decided to leave the apartment on the next day. She took all her belongings on the very next day and sad she was going to come back a day later for her deposit.

Then I announced to her (and her boyfriend was with her so he heard me) that I had decided to stay in the property and I was giving her 30 days notice. She said she was already leaving and I should find another roommate. Now she wants her deposit back. We never had a formal written agreement and she has no proof that she gave me a deposit because I never signed anything.

I would like to know by LAW (not ethically) what I am bound to do next.

The apartment is dirty and I need to clean things, includding 2 heavy comforters that she used fo 5 months without cleaning (which cost 60 dollars each to get dry cleaned). Also her deposit was given in a foreign currency. What do I need to do? Can she sue me?


Asked on 3/26/11, 11:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

First, an oral agreement is just as lawfully binding as a written agreement. The difference is in how one proves the terms of the agreement. Clearly, where it is oral, unless the two parties to the agreement come into Court and tell a judge the exact same terms, to a certain degree, the judge will have to play "he said, she said," and decide who's version he believes.

Second, how the security deposit was paid is somewhat irrelevant. If she paid you in chickens, so long as you both agreed that it was $200 worth of chickens, then you are holding her security deposit and must return it within 21 days of her moving out, or provide her with an accounting for the use of the security deposit. If she left the apartment dirty (the portion she was occupying), then you can lawfully deduct for cleaning, but it must be reasonable, and you should generally use a third-party to do the cleaning. You will need to have a receipt. Can she sue you if you do not return her money - absolutely, and you could not only lose the $200, but if a Court feels that you did so with malice, they could triple the amount to $600. The flip side is that she is generally responsible to give you 30 days notice, and you could theoretically hold her liable for 30 days rent, but since you initiated the whole thing to begin with, I do not believe you would win that argument.

Your best bet (and probably lawful obligation, based on the limited facts provided) is to return the security deposit and/or return it less the dry cleaning and provide copies of receipts and an accounting for the security deposit.

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Answered on 3/28/11, 3:12 pm


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