Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I will explain its situation before anything else.
I lived in a condo, it is like apartment but has only 6 units, for 6 years.
our first landlord, whom we made its agreements with, called out for its bankruptcy.
and/so bank people came talk to us about how we will be paying rent to them.
however, we refused to pay the rent to them since we thought these people were fraud because we sent its rent a week before the due date and the owner has not taken out the money for two months.
also, people i know said don't because if they are "real" then they would bring its official documents and all.
other then this and one other time I was NEVER late with its rents for 6 years
after that month the new management have been assigned.
this management did not last longer and had another managements within 4~5 months.
two landlords and two managements changed overall.
when the last management came in they changed everyone else's carpet and paintings but not us.
the reason why i say this is that our carpet condition was awful too and our puppy made it worse.
i do not know if this would help but the public dryer and washer did not work for a year and never fixed it although we asked to. lost about $10 on it because it still did not work although they said, "it is fixed now"
I am having big time issues with my former landlord over the security deposit.
i moved out on the 15th of June in 2013 and signed its 30-day notice of tenant(s) intent to vacate form on the 6th of may in 2013.
the management told us that the deposit would be sent within 21 day, but still have not received.
i did some research regarding this issue and found CA law says it may take up to 21~60 days so i have been waiting for that 60 days.
of course i have been calling, 3 times, and emailing, once, the managements about it, but all they say was "I do not know" or "the landlord has not replied us yet".
and yes, i did not receive any reply from its landlord.
when i called the managements today the head manager in the office, which they are only 2 people in, told me that he is also having trouble with the landlord and/so thinking about closing a bank account with the landlord.
our deposit was $2200 and the rent was $1250
i do understand that my dog made its carpet worse than it was, but that part was already teared off a bit, like 2~3 cm. plus some odor.
unfortunately our camera broke so i lost its evidence of its carpet.
but still I do believe that i have my rights to get any process or something.
we did not get any formal documents nor the reason why we are not getting any deposit.
it has been 53 days since we moved out.
please help us out!
can anyone tell me how:
to file small claims court
when should i file this case
should i send REQUEST FOR RETURN OF SECURITY DEPOSIT 14 M.R.S.A. §6031 et seq.
form now or wait till 60 days
should i send this form to its managements or to its landlord?
is it okay even if i am in different city now, but still in CA.
if i have to present then do i have go back to my old city? because it takes 2 hours to go back.
may i bring my son with me because he can speak better English than i am.
First of all go to the California state landlord tenant laws which you'll probably find linked in the first "sticky" on this forum. Landlords are required by law to return your security deposit less any documented deductions within a certain time period which varies by state but is usually around 30 days.
Once the date has passed by which your security deposit was to be returned to you, they cannot make any deductions but have to return the whole security deposit to you. From what you say, this is where you now stand. Some states allow you to claim 2 and 3 times the amount of your deposit if it's not returned. I don't know if CA is one of those states but the laws you're going to look at will tell you if that's so.
The first thing you should do is write to them via return receipt certified mail asking for return of your security deposit within 10 days of the date of your letter and tell them that if this is not done you will be "be forced to take further action". You write the letter to whoever your rent payments were made to. If for any reason they don't pick up the letter or refuse delivery, it will be returned to you by the Post Office and you should keep it unopened.
if you do not receive your security deposit back within 10 days then you go to Small Claims court and file your suit. If CA allows you to file for 2 or 3 times the amount of the deposit then file for it, along with your court costs. The double or triple amount of damages if allowed aren't usually granted automatically and are at the discretion of the judge. Yes, you have to file in the jurisdiction where the property is located and, yes, you'll have to appear in court in that jurisdiction. Hopefully it won't come to that and, when they get your letter, they'll return your deposit with no more messing around.
Because you did not receive your security deposit within 21 days, they now have to give you your full deposit back. That's the law, no matter what.
It's not 60 days. Only 21. So, now it doesn't matter about the carpet at all. You win automatically, because they didn't send you an itemization and/or a refund within 21 days.
Yes, first you are required to ask for your money back in writing. So, send a letter like this to the last manager you were supposed to pay rent to. That person is responsible to get your deposit back to you. If you don't feel sure about that, then send it to both the last manager and the owner.
Dear Manager & Owner,
As you have not provided me with an itemization and/or my security deposit back within 21 days as required by California law, I demand that you send my full deposit of $____________________, to me by ______________________ (give them about a week).
If I do not receive my full deposit by that date, I intend to sue in small claims court for my deposit, court costs, and punitive damages in the amount of twice the deposit, as allowed by the court.
Please send the check to the address below, which is the address I gave to you upon moving out.
Sincerely,
You
Your Address
If you don't receive the check, then file in small claims court.
Yes, you have to file where the rental was.
You will sue whoever you were paying rent to last. But, you may also want to name the owner, just to be sure.
Yes, you can take your son with you.
When you fill out the form to file your claim, add that you also want your court costs reimbursed by the LL if you win.
I bet the letter above gets you your check. But, if you do end up in court, don't be nervous, it's not scary. Just tell the judge that you didn't get your deposit back within 21 days, and show him/her a copy of your lease that shows the amount of your deposit. You will win.
i sent it to the landlord but should i also send it to its managements too?
i only sent it to the landlord because even management sounds clueless.
That's up to you. The PMC acts for the LL and if your lease is with the PMC then they're the people you communicate with. If your lease is with the LL himself you communicate with him.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
