The never ending questions about moving out, security deposits and if I need to pay vol. Bay Area

[dhart48]

We live In Cali and
Basically
We moved out officially on December 23rd(lease was up at the end of the month). We decided not to do the pre move out inspection as the carpet was in bad shape and we knew we wouldn't get the deposit back(we lived there for 3 years)
Just last night at 11:48(jan 20th), we received an email including itemized statements/reciepts of the carpet(which was anticipated)but also a bunch of other work that pretty much totaled waaaaaay past our deposit. Our initial deposit was $1250, so she burned through that and now she is saying we owe her around $1600.

My question is, shouldn't we have recieved that(itemized statements and reciepts of work that was being done) within 21 days of us moving out? CA Law states, that the LL has 21 days upon tenants vacating the premises, to return the deposit(if any is left) with repairs stated on an itemized list and reciepts. What happens if she sends this list AFTER the 21 day mark?? claiming we owe her a ridiculous amount of money?? I'm doing research now and can't find any solution to this so far, the only solution I find is if she owes us our deposit back(which honestly she doesn't as I've admitted that)

I, myself was expecting something on January 12 or 13th since the 13th I believe would be the 21st day. Her waiting till Jan 20th at 11:48pm to send this just seems a little fishy to me. Especially since I thought that the 21 days thing would start after we moved out. All her statements and receipts for repairs are dated for december 26th, I just had no knowledge of them until last night, 28 days after we moved out. I'm just confused because if the 21 days did start in January(which she is going by) why start the repairs roughly a week before that but wait to send the statements/reciepts up until the "percieved" last minute?

Can any of my NT brethern make sense of this?

 

[yeah]

Housing laws and regulations change from state to state, so I can't tell you 100% what your best legal recourse is. However, I know for a fact that what she is trying to do is illegal if it went down the exact way you said it did. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but it should get you to where you need to go.

Issue #1: The security deposit and deductions. I did a brief search on rental laws in Cali and found that landlords are actually required to notify you in advance if they will be deducting any amount of money from your security deposit. Furthermore, land lords are only allowed to deduct damages outside of normal wear and tear. Here's a site with a list of examples of normal wear and tear. If I were you, I'd compare these examples with the itemized list you were given and check to see if she improperly billed you for things she is responsible for. This will make your case stronger when you present your findings, both to her and the court if it gets that far.

Issue #2: Timing. As you stated in your post, California law says that landlords have 21 days to return the security deposit. Typically, that 21 days is going to start from the last day of the lease. So if you moved on Dec. 23rd, but your lease was through December 31st, she's not technically breaking the law because Jan. 20th is still within 21 days of Dec. 31st. Check your lease. Your entire caae may hinge on that, so make sure you are 100% certain about the end of the lease.

If I were you, here's what I would do:

1. Read up on California residency laws. The links in this post should be a good start.

2. Contact your former landlord and notify them IN WRITING that you are disapppointed they failed to notify you about taking your deposit in advance, and that would like to negoitate some of the charges you received.

3. Compare your list of charges for normal wear and tear items with their itemized list, and ask for their documentation for every single thing they billed you for. If they can't provide a picture or other proof, you should not be giving them money for it.

4. Look up reputable lawyers in your area and be ready to make that call. Based on the failure to notify you in advance, you very well may be entitled to your full security deposit without having to pay them anything for repairs, but I'm not a california resident and I'm not sure if your courts follow the law verbatim. A laywer will be able to provide you advice with confidence, so read, confirm, and make sure you have someone you can rely on before you go to your former leasing office with guns blazing, demanding that they give you your deposit.

Hope this helps. I can try to answer any questions that come from this.

 

[dhart48]

^^^ thanks man!
The lease did end at the end of the year(dec 31st) so she is in the right when it comes to that. We just never received any type of notice other than the one we got last night that she sent, where we were just told that we weren't getting the deposit back(which we expected because of the carpet) but to be told we owe an additional $1600 more is just atrocious.
It also seems that a relative of some sort did the repairs as on one of the invoices the business is just called "handyman Services" and the last name of this person is the same with the omission of the last letter from his and it just has a phone number, along with a list of labor hours it took him to fix certain things
-2 hours for a cracked microwave door cost $90
It all just seems sketch to me, but i'm sure she can hire whoever she wants

SO i'm about to start reading now as well as comparing the list of repairs she made to the place

Greatly appreciated!