Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    2

    Default No Rental Agreement or Security Deposit - Do I Still Have to Pay for Cleaning

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

    My boyfriend and I moved into a room in a friend of ours' house. We signed no rental agreement and she did not collect a security deposit from us. We moved out of that location on November 17, 2012 and I thought everything was fine. Until 4 days ago (6 months after we have moved) I received an itemized list of cleaning charges for the room that we rented. I think it should also be said that we left the place in the same, dirty unvaccuumed condition as when we moved in. She is requesting a total right around $600 and I would like to know if I am obligated to pay her or not. The way I see it, if she wanted to be a serious landlord she should have started from day one with a written rental agreement and security deposit.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: No Rental Agreement or Security Deposit - Do I Still Have to Pay for Damages

    There obviously was some agreement. It does not have to be in writing. The deposit is for the landlords protection. If you were liable for damages, the ll not taking a deposit would not change that.

    With that said, did you provide her with a forwarding address? Is this the first notice of damages you have received?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: No Rental Agreement or Security Deposit - Do I Still Have to Pay for Damages

    Yes I provided a forwarding address and yes this is the first time I have heard anything from her in 6 months. Also, I should have been more clear...the charges are for cleaning, not damage.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: No Rental Agreement or Security Deposit - Do I Still Have to Pay for Damages

    Can you prove the condition of the room when you moved in?

    Pictures?

    An inspection sheet signe by her that says the room was dirty?

    If not, then you are vulnerable to a lawsuit and there's no way to predict which way a judge will rule.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: No Rental Agreement or Security Deposit - Do I Still Have to Pay for Damages

    1. Costs of cleaning
    A landlord may properly deduct from the departing tenant's security deposit to make the rental unit as clean as it was when the tenant moved in.241
    A landlord cannot routinely charge each tenant for cleaning carpets, drapes, walls, or windows in order to prepare the rental unit for the next tenancy. Instead, the landlord must look at how well the departing tenant cleaned the rental unit, and may charge cleaning costs only if the departing tenant left the rental unit (or a portion of it) less clean than when he or she moved in. Reasonable cleaning costs would include the cost of such things as eliminating flea infestations left by the tenant's animals, cleaning the oven, removing decals from walls, removing mildew in bathrooms, defrosting the refrigerator, or washing the kitchen floor. But the landlord could not charge for cleaning any of these conditions if they existed at the time that the departing tenant moved in. In addition, the landlord could not charge for the cumulative effects of wear and tear. Suppose, for example, that the tenant had washed the kitchen floor but that it remained dingy because of wax built up over the years. The landlord could not charge the tenant for stripping the built-up wax from the kitchen floor.
    The The landlord is allowed to deduct from the tenant's security deposit only the reasonable cost of cleaning the rental unit.242
    a good link: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/l...-deposit.shtml

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Security Deposits: Security Deposit Withheld for Carpet Cleaning, Insects
    By us11csalyer in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 08-31-2012, 08:15 AM
  2. Security Deposits: Tenants Security Deposit for Cleaning Fees
    By Calilandlord in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 11-26-2011, 04:25 PM
  3. Security Deposit Without Rental Agreement
    By nluchs in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-25-2011, 11:16 PM
  4. Security Deposits: Landlord Taking Security Deposit for Carpet Cleaning
    By rider1970 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-24-2011, 12:52 PM
  5. Security Deposits: Rental Agreement States the Security Deposit Will Be Returned Without Interest
    By djd in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 02-15-2011, 03:31 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources