[import]

Posted by andres santini on September 07, 2002 at 22:31:27:

The landlord of the apartment I used to live in, kept the full security deposit and is charging me an extra $800 dollars (in addition to the original $400 dollars security deposit) for different things. The landlord claims these include; unpaid rent of one (1) week, non returned keys, gate remote control and the carpet replacement. All of these charges are untrue, I paid everything ahead of my moving out date, returned keys, even extra ones. The gate remote they talk about was kept by my roomate who left a deposit of $50 for it. The carpet was "replaced." I spoke with the maintenance guy and he told me that the carpet was only "cleaned" and that the reason they are charging me is because the dining room area was dirty. The sink overflowed four (4) times in a seventeen(17) month period.The pipes run from the third floor down to my apartment and they are "... thin, old and rusty." (the plumber's opinion).We do not use the garbage disposal, on one occation the sink started to overflow at 2 AM. Tons of "stuff" came of the sink and stained the carpet. We had to use a fan to air out the room from discusting odors for three (3) days. I had to use my own pots to scoup the "stuff" and flush it down the toilet. Please help me find out if I have a case before I take them to the small claims court. I've been harrased by these guys after we've cleared this up. Sinceraly yours.
Andres Santini from Pleasant Hill, CA.

[import]

Posted by david on September 07, 2002 at 22:53:59:

For starters, take a look at Cal. Civil Code Section 1950.5, especially subsection e and f which detail your rights regarding security deposits in CA. You can find the section at www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw and going to the Civil Code portion.
Your success in Small Claims court will depend on the strength of your evidence. If you can bring the plumber and maintenance person, all the better. If not, get statements from each under penalty of perjury. Before and after pictures may also help.
California has some intricate laws which trip up many landlords. You may have some other things to throw at your former landlord and you can discover these by going to your local law library (every county has one or more, generally near the courthouse) and asking for a book on eviction law.