Need advice re:landlord

tilden2

Many of you know that we were forced to move last month when our landlord went into foreclosure and kicked us out so he could have a better chance of selling the place. We vacated the apartment three weeks ago and under CA law, he had 21 days to return our deposit. Today, I got the following email:

I have reviewed the apartment and observed and documented the following damage to the unit:

The vinyl floors in the kitchen and laundry have deep scratches caused by the dog's claws. This is an unrepairable condition and the floors will need to be replaced to be brought back to original condition when you took possession of the apt.

The bathtub porcelain was chipped off the tub near the drain. In order to bring this back to original condition the tub will need to be replaced as spot repairs are not effective or long lasting. This requires pulling the existing cultured marble off the walls to replace the tub. The cultured marble wall enclosure is not designed to be removed once installed, so that will have to be replaced as well.

The place was not clean when vacated

The carpet has numerous animal caused stains as well as being dirty.

The walls have some minor damage which require repair and need painting.

The apartment was not returned as originally presented.



We lived in the place for three years. How can he expect us to return the apartment "as originally presented"? What qualifies as normal wear and tear? And how do I know he's not overstating the extent of the damage or the cost to repair it?

This is so frustrating, but I am really tempted to just let it go and be grateful that the recession hasn't hurt us any more than this. WWYD?

abvernon

I guess it depends on how much the security deposit is. Honestly, I would fight it. We are going through this ourselves. However, we lived in the apartment for almost 8 yrs.

How much are these repairs?

Replacing an entire bathtub for minor chip is unacceptable, imo. Was it there before?

The scratches from the dog-that may be an acceptable deduction

as for the paint, if that is normal wear and tear, then he can not charge you for that.

Below is the booklet for Tenant's rights. Hopefully this helps.

 

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

 

 

This should help

sm23

Did you guys do a walk-through with the landlord when you moved in and/or when you moved out? Did you document the condition of the apartment when you moved in and out, take photos, etc.?

From my understanding, the landlord should advise you of your right to do a walk-through before you move out, and you have a right to be present for that inspection. At that point, they can give you a heads up about their desired repairs and give you time to complete them before you leave, so that you can get all or most of your deposit back. Doing all this is helpful in settling disagreements about the condition of the apartment.

It's also my understanding that minor damage caused by living there, including some blemishes to paint and small holes in the wall where pictures were hung, constitutes normal wear and tear and cannot be held against you. Minor scratches are also normal wear and tear from what I understand, but I don't know how bad the scratches are that he's referring to?

Removal of trash, carpet cleaning, etc. is on the tenant to complete. If that's not done then it can be a deduction from your deposit. That said -- what was the condition of the apartment when you moved in? If there was trash and damage to the carpet then, it's not your responsibility to leave the place cleaner than you got it. It's just hard to prove these things without walk-through documents/photos.

This is a really good resource about renters rights.

In general, it kind of sounds to me like there are some things he needs to do to get the place in shape to sell, and might be overstating the damage so he can use your deposit to complete that work... My IL's used to have a lot of rental properties, and from what I've heard from them, the law is generally on the tenant's side when it comes to disagreements about security deposits. But you may end up having to argue with him and/or take him to small claims court 

Good luck!

leolyns

if they tell you that it will cost X amount of dollars in addition to your security deposit, I know that you do have the right to receive an itemized list of repairs and costs. And even when tenants move out, they would at least have to shampoo the rugs and get the stains out or replace the carpet (unless you did that).

PinkHighlighter

You don't have to return the apartment as originally presented.  Normal wear and tear is what is required, although that is fuzzy.

I would write back stating the law (linked by other posters) and ask for a walk through.  For the items that you can agree are not normal wear and tear, the landlord is required (if you ask) to give you receipts of the cost of repair -- that they just can't claim something and then take it out of your deposit.  Also, you can offer to repair it yourself (or through someone you hire). 

From the letter, I'd say that the damage to the floors, tub, and carpet stated does sound a bit beyond normal wear and tear but the cost of repairs may be out of line.  However, the "minor damage" and painting sound like normal wear and tear. 

I know with our properties, we shampoo the rug and paint as necessary without deducting from the deposit.  But if we had to fix floor damage or a chip in the tub, we might deduct.  But then that probably depends on how long the person was there.

MrsJulieT

No clue...but it sounds shady if he is loosing the place to foreclosure why is he going to fix it up first? Sounds like he doesn't have your deposit to give back to you and he's finding reasons that will allow him to not have to find that money.

abvernon

MrsJulieT:

No clue...but it sounds shady if he is loosing the place to foreclosure why is he going to fix it up first? Sounds like he doesn't have your deposit to give back to you and he's finding reasons that will allow him to not have to find that money.

I never thought of that but you do bring up a good point. 

winterorchids

I know sm23 already posted the NOLO site, but here is a specific page I thought might help. A similiar sort of chart was actually included in our rental lease agreement packet.

 Chart: Cleaning and Repairs a Landlord Can Deduct From a Security Deposit

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/chart-cleaning-repairs-landlord-deduct-29017.html

It's only a general list of examples. Nothing is hard and fast.

hannikan

Yeah, unfortunately it's rare to get all your deposit money back. We lived in SL for 6 years and considering that we left the place in very good condition. But we still had cleaning costs taken out of our deposit. We tried to argue it for a bit but discovered we wouldn't get anything due to what WO posted. They will pretty much always take out money for carpet cleaning (which is why some people have done themselves before they move to find a cheaper rate). We lived in SJ for one year and they took carpet cleaning out of our deposit. I don't think doing the walk through makes much difference. It's more just a formality.

kfishie

K,

I have always found this to the be an extremely valuable resource: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/index.shtml

This guide cites to the Civil Code. The general rule is: a security deposit can be used to clean the apt to as clean as it was when you moved in and to repair damages other than normal wear and tear. Your Landlord must send you an itemized list of the damages and the cost of the repairs.

As for the walls, since you lived in the unit for MORE than 2 years, your LL cannot change you ANYTHING for the cost to repaint the walls, no matter how dirty the walls are.  

As for the carpet, typically any wear and tear is pro-rated against the useful life of the carpet.  (Ie: if the carpet's life is 10 years and has been installed for 8, any "damage" you caused would only be for the 20% value left).

Feel free to email me if you have questions.....

tilden2

MrsJulieT:

No clue...but it sounds shady if he is loosing the place to foreclosure why is he going to fix it up first? Sounds like he doesn't have your deposit to give back to you and he's finding reasons that will allow him to not have to find that money.

This is what I think too, Julie.

hersheykiss

BTW, your landlord HAS to repaint, it is part of the CA law. He cannot charge you for that. Also, the carpet has to be replaced every 5 years. I don't know about the rest. 

Rock-n-Voll

Ugh, no advice, just sorry you're dealing with this.  What he's doing does sound a little shady, though.