Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Contact the landlord and point out that if you can not resolve the dispute then you will have to sue in small claims court whee he will have the burden of proof to show that the sums he withheld were reasonable and that he has evidence to show those sums were actually spent. Often the court will not allow a deduction, or at least not a full one, if the landlord did the work himself and has no estimate from someone else as to what it would cost. Alsopoint out to the landlord that he has only 21 days from when your occupanies ended to explain the deductions he made and if ther are discrepancies he clearly has not reasonably described the deductions and is subject to having to pay those amounts withheld and possibly a penalty.