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  1. #1

    Default Itemized Bill Sent to Wrong Address - Received 9 Months Late

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of:

    California.

    I broke a 12 month lease in an apartment complex on month 11 and moved out in May 2008.

    Per California Civil Code Section 1950.5 the landlord is required to provide us the itemized deductions within 21 days of move out containing final bill for owed rent, cleaning, damage, etc. They *did* send out the bill but they sent it to the wrong address! This was an error on their part not mine - the original move out contract (which I have a copy of) contained the correct forwarding address but they mistakenly seem to have sent the notice to an address with an extra digit, therefore it simply did not get to us. They seem to have figured out their mistake eventually and sent the bill to the correct address, but not until 9 months later!

    Is this clerical error something that I could use in court as a violation of California Civil Code Section 1950.5?

    Note, I may have paid the bill had it arrived on time, but 9 months later I had completely forgotten about it and no longer had the available funds on hand. It was a surprise to me to get it almost a year later. Also note they had both mine and my wife's cell numbers through which they could have contacted us during the 9 month hiatus, but they did not.

    Where do I stand?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Itemized Bill Sent to Wrong Address - Received 9 Months Late

    Basically, you could file a small claims case asserting that as they did not give you timely notice they should not be able to keep your security deposit. They can then counterclaim for the damages. I would expect the judge to find that their late notice disqualifies them from keeping the deposit, but that they acted in good faith and thus should not face any additional consequence; and, as you don't dispute that you owe the damages claimed, you can expect them to prevail on their counterclaim, have the security deposit used as an offset against the balance due, and then to get a judgment for the difference between the amount of the deposit and the additional money awarded.

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