Deposit Forfeiture For Refusing To Move In

[Bradw98]

Hello,
My son verbally agreed to rent a house in San Diego, California, the house was occupied at the time he agreed to do it and the owner requested a $1,500 deposit to hold the house until the tenant moved. This weekend the house as vacated and my son went to inspect before moving and unfortunately the house was in such poor condition that he refused to move in. The owner told him that he was going to keep the $1500 for "lost rent" until he could find another tenant and stated it was within his legal rights to do so since my son had "agreed" to rent it. There is NO written agreement of any kind in place signed by either party. What, if any, recourse do we have?
Thank you!

[Mr. Knowitall]

Small claims court.