Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: tenant question

You can file a counterclaim against the tenant.In the counterclaim, you can assert a right to make deductions from the deposit, for example, for damage to the rental that the tenant caused. Both parties then will have to argue to the judge why he or she is entitled to the deposit.

For future reference, remember that under California law, 21 calendar days or less after the tenant moves, you must either: Send the full refund of the security deposit, or mail or personally deliver to the tenant an itemized statement that lists the amounts of any deductions from the security deposit and the reasons for the deductions, together with a refund of any amounts not deducted.

A phone call is not sufficient. If you have any other questions about this, feel free to contact me.

Yours truly,

Bryan

Re: tenant question

I hate to say it, but you may well be liable to the residents for their entire security deposit, as well as a penalty. As a landlord you should be intimately familiar with the statutes that use and return of security deposits. That statute gives you the flexibility of not finishing all repair work before the 21 days are up, but doesn not provide any excuse for failing to account for the use of the security deposit, or returning the security deposit within 21 days of the tenant moving out. You need to read in full, and memorize Civil Code Sec. 1950.5. Specifically, as it relates to your question, you were entitled to deduct from the security deposit a good-faith estimate of the cost of work to be performed that cannot reasonably be completed within 21 days. Failure to do so means you have no defense to failing to return the deposit or provide an accounting within the 21 days. Good luck.

*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.

Re: tenant question

Mr. Gibbs is right, but you may still counterclaim for the amount it cost you to repair the place. If you win, then the court likely will offset the amount awarded to you by the security deposit and penalties you otherwise might be required to return. So you might still net the difference.