Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Whether allegations involving facts will stand up in court depends on the quality of the evidence. We at LawGuru can answer questions about law and procedure, but when the issue is provability of alleged facts, we're somewhat helpless. If the unsigned document is the "move in report", the fact that it's unsigned probably lessens its evidentiary impact, but it doesn't render it meaningless. I'd say the first thing you should consider is whether the sum of money potentially involved here suggests that the landlord will (a) withhold your deposit; (b) take you to Small Claims; or (c) take you to Superior Court. Next question or issue would be, if it's (b) or (c), what will the judge believe? Factors affecting the result might include how long you lived there, the extent of the damage, whether it's the kind of damage you might have lived with for all the time you were, there, and so forth. Then, there might be other factors affecting proof of when the damage occurred, such as if it were crayon scrawls on the walls, and you had no kids but the previous tenant did, or on the other hand, a broken front door or garage door that no one would put up with for five years which would point to you as the responsible party. In short, it depends upon the specific facts and how well they are presented and argued in court -- if it gets that far.