If you are among the many, MANY apartment dwellers in this fine city (or elsewhere), you've no doubt had to put up with trying times. Something's broken, landlord won't fix it. Someone in your building is loud/annoying/insane/stealing your mail, and the landlord won't do anything about it. You come home Friday night, excited about sleeping in the next day, to find a notice on your door informing you that the landlord needs to come in tomorrow morning. At 7:00 am.
None of those ring a bell? How about this one: you scrub, you sanitize, you paint, you rent a carpet cleaner from the grocery store, and you move. Three weeks later, you get your security deposit back. Or rather, you get a tiny fraction of that deposit back. Along with your ridiculous check, the landlord sends you a list of things they used your money for.
Think they owe you more? They probably do.
Here's how to get it.
According to the California Department of Consumer Affairs, "the most common disagreement between landlords and tenants is over the refund of the tenant's security deposit after the tenant has moved out of the unit."
No surprise there. It's imperative that you know exactly what you are responsible for. Keep in mind, these are not laws (though many are included in the CA civil code), but if you do decide to fight for your cash, this info is, for the most part, accepted as truth.
The DCA states, "California law specifically allows the landlord to use a tenant's security deposit for four purposes"...
- For unpaid rent
- For cleaning the rental unit when the tenant moves out, but only to make the unit as clean as it was when the tenant first moved in.
- For repair of damages, other than normal wear and tear, caused by the tenant or the tenant's guests.
- If the lease or rental agreement allows it, for the cost of restoring or replacing furniture, furnishings, or other items of personal property (including keys), other than because of normal wear and tear.
THAT'S IT.
Essentially, your landlord can only use your money to make the apartment as good as it was when you got there. You should always take pictures when you move in to a new apartment, especially when the place isn't perfect. Stains on the carpet? Broken or bent mini blinds? Scratch on the wood or tile? Take a picture. Make note.
If you don't have pictures, don't freak out. It's your word against theirs, so you have a fair chance.
If you read that carefully, you'll notice the "normal wear and tear" clause. Your landlord can NOT charge you to fix or replace something that has normal wear and tear. Think: carpets, floors, bathtub glazing, etc. They can use your deposit to clean the carpet- only to get it back to it's condition before you moved in.
"Suppose, for example, that the tenant had washed the kitchen floor but that it remained dingy because of wax built up over the years. The landlord could not charge the tenant for stripping the built-up wax from the kitchen floor."
Now, how about carpets? Drapes? Furniture (if your place came furnished)?
You only need pay for the "remaining useful life" of those items. If your place came with a used couch, and you put a few cigarette burns in that couch, you can NOT be held responsible for the cost of a brand new couch. Another example:
"One common method of calculating the deduction for replacement prorates the total cost of replacement so that the tenant pays only for the remaining useful life of the item that the tenant has damaged or destroyed. For example, suppose a tenant has damaged beyond repair an eight-year-old carpet that had a life expectancy of ten years, and that a replacement carpet of similar quality would cost $1,000. The landlord could properly charge only $200 for the two years' worth of life (use) that would have remained if the tenant had not damaged the carpet."
Most people generally assume they'll be charged for repainting. It's one of those standard things that we expect. Well, guess what? You don't necessarily have to pay for that.
The DCA says interior paint has an expected life span of about two years. If you live in the same place for at least two years, you've outstayed the life of that paint. You don't owe a penny, even if your five-year-old played Picasso on the bedroom wall. In the same vein, if you stayed in the place for less than six months and somehow your place needs repainting already...you're SOL.
Remember, the landlord is always REQUIRED to send you an itemized list of repairs and costs, and to include receipts for all the work that was done (the exception being that total repairs cost less than $126.00).
Armed with this info, you should be able to make a strong case for your cash. Write a letter (email works too) explaining why you think you are owed more. Cite the DCA. Be professional. Make a copy, date it, and sign it. If all else fails, you can take the case to small claims, but usually just the threat of court is enough to make your landlord buckle.
The Landlord from Will Ferrell
For more information on your rights as a tenant, visit the DCA's website here.
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I wish Will Ferrell was my tenant.
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