My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: CA
On June 18, 2010 my landlord left a notice of Termination of Tenancy on my door. The notice said that my last day was August 18, 2010. I lived in this apartment for 2 years. I live in Kern county. I finally found a new place on August 1 and made arrangements with a friend who has a truck to help me move my big things, but he could only come on August 18. I moved most everything else with my car by Aug. 14. So, when I arrived at my old apartment on August 18, I found a woman cleaning and a guy painting and all of my final belongings gone. I asked if they knew where my things were and they said, "No." This was my first apartment and I didn't know if I had made a mistake so I left. Then, my parents received a letter and invoices from my old landlord demanding an additional $780 on top of the entire $525 security deposit. The invoices showed that my property had been taken on Aug. 15 by the same guy that I saw in my apartment on Aug. 18 painting the walls. He took my Maytag Neptune front load washer and dryer set, my wood bed set, my roommates clothes that had been in the dryer, my vacuum cleaner, and my yard tools. The invoice for removing my property before my last day was $535. Then, I was charged $70 to replace 2 light defusers for the florenscent lights in the kitchen, but they were missing from the beginning. I was charged $175 for cleaning and $160 for carpet cleaning, even though I was going to finish cleaning on Aug. 18 when I found a cleaning lady already in my apartment. The final invoice was charging me for a clogged toilet that had occured on Jan, 20, 2010. The plumber had placed the fecal matter in the bathtub and left it there. When I got home from work, I found the mess. I called the landlord and told her about the mess and she said that she didn't believe me and that I would have to pay for the plumber. I refused because of the mess they left and she said that she would call the plumber to see if they had left a mess in the bathtub. I never heard back from her until the notice on my door 5 months later. I sent her a letter stating that she had stated that my last day was Aug. 18 and I had paid rent through the 18th, but she had people enter my apartment, take my things, and clean it before the end of my tenancy. I stated that the amount she owed me was $1600 for all of my property that she took. She responded with a message to my phone stating that she had my property, that I could come and get it, but that she was still charging me for all of the prior things. What should I do now? Contact the owners of the building to let them know that she breaks the law? Please let me know where I stand legally.

