Landlords withholding a tenant's entire security deposit are common practice. Thus, before you move, request a move-out inspection within two weeks of your move so that the landlord can identify - and in writing - repair issues that may cause deductions from your deposit so that you can address these issues. Your right to this inspection can be found in Cal. Civ. Code section 1950.5.
Be sure to leave your rental residence in broom-clean condition with the appliances clean and the bathroom sparkling. Dust the blinds, wash the mirrors, and clean dirty windows. Take photographs of each room and of any damages that might cause deductions from your security deposit.
Your landlord has 21 days after you move out to return your deposit either in full or with itemized deductions. If your landlord failed to return your deposit or withheld unreasonably large amounts, you can challenge these deductions in small claims court. It takes up to 6-months to get a hearing but both you and the landlord have to present your case to the judge - you are both on equal footing and neither person can have a lawyer present.
Before you take your landlord to court, you must send your landlord a letter demanding the full (or partial) return of your security deposit. And, if you feel that the deductions were unreasonable, back up your feelings with evidence. For instance, if there is a small spot on a hardwood floor that your landlord considered "damaged," get counter-estimates to repair the damage.
Your landlord can deduct monies from your security deposit based on estimates and not actual invoices. Within 14-days after receiving the itemized deductions from your landlord, you can ask the landlord to provide actual invoices (versus estimates) and the landlord has 14-days to comply. See Cal. Civ. Code section 1950.5(g)(5).
If you receive an order (e.g. a judgment) from small claims court in your favor, collecting on the judgment may be an issue. If a landlord feels that they can "fly in the face of the law" and boldly "take" your security deposit without justification, they may also avoid paying the judgment. While the judgment may affect their credit rating, it may be only a small "ding" and outweighed by their property assets. Thus, the best solution is to come to an agreement about your security deposit with your landlord before you move and, if you think that your landlord will "take" your deposit without justification, begin to build your small claims case before you move. There are legal methods available for collecting on a judgment such as a property lien but, hopefully, you won't need to employ them.
Finally, under state law, the landlord does not have to pay you interest on your security deposit. Certain cities, like Berkeley, require interest payment but not so in Oakland and other municipalities.
Lobby with your City Councilperson, State Assembly Member, and State Senators to try to get the laws changed to insulate tenants from unreasonable security deposit deductions. In 2013, Tenants Together estimated that landlords held up to $5 Billion in tenant security deposits. That's a whole lot of money held without a mechanism to protect the tenant consumer from unscrupulous landlords. That is also not to say that there are honest landlords who, in good faith, return security deposits to their renters. But, to those that fail to abide by the law, our state should legislate better protective measures.
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