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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
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    4

    Default Landlord is Charging Excessive Cleaning Fees Against the Security Deposit

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

    My landlord's handyman recently sent me an invoice of various "cleaning and repair" charges.



    Here is there breakdown of the charges. No receipts for materials. Apparently just one handyman completed all this work. Which of course he probably didn't, if the condition the LL gave the unit to us initially is any indication. It is pretty outrageous. They claim that I left the kitchen "too dirty to survive cleaning", and that it apparently costed $2430 in materials alone to clean the kitchen. Firstly, the kitchen was and the vinyl floors were quite dirty from the getgo, and we have move-in inspection photos that document this. There is a charge for "floor repair" in the kitchen, even though the floor is not damaged, just rather dirty. The kitchen floor is a very old pitted vinyl floor that needed to be replaced decades ago. It had dirt embedded into it. It was pretty much impossible to clean by hand with a mop and brush, it needed to be professionally cleaned, or better yet replaced completely.

    There was some grease on the kitchen walls and cabinets, yes, because there was never a proper range hood in the house - just one of just ductless recirculating ones on microwaves whose filters only last a few days.

    The rest of the charges either completely fraudulent or just made up. The stovestop, oven, and microwave was cleaned pretty thoroughly, and the dishwasher was never used. Apparently it costs $80 for labor and $250 to clean an oven, microwave, and dishwasher? And what about cleaning the showers? $60+240 to clean them? They were scrubbed before we gave them the keys. How dirty could they possibly be to justify the cost?

    I never thought my landlord would do this to me. I'm pretty much disputing everything. The cleaning costs should be $300 at the most liberal estimate, and I could have hired a company to do everything for much less. What can I do? Take this to a small claims court?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    1,026

    Default Re: Exorbitant "Cleaning" Charges, a $3000 Security Deposit is Not Even Given Back

    If you disagree with the amount kept from your security deposit you consider suing over this matter. Have you got pictures of the place at move out to dispute some of these claims?

    Gail

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: Exorbitant "Cleaning" Charges, a $3000 Security Deposit is Not Even Given Back

    Quote Quoting guest2171
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    What can I do? Take this to a small claims court?
    Yes.

    That's all you can do if you want even a chance of getting any money back.

    That you have move-in photos will go a long way to help prove your case.

    Study the CA security deposit law Section 1950.5.

    http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/di...le=1940-1954.1

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
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    98,846

    Default Re: Landlord is Charging Excessive Cleaning Fees Against the Security Deposit

    Quote Quoting guest2171
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    ....and we have move-in inspection photos that document this.
    Did you also take photos when you moved out?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Exorbitant "Cleaning" Charges, a $3000 Security Deposit is Not Even Given Back

    Quote Quoting gail in georgia
    View Post
    If you disagree with the amount kept from your security deposit you consider suing over this matter. Have you got pictures of the place at move out to dispute some of these claims?

    Gail

    Unfortunately no, but neither do they. I think any judge should be able to see through these phony charges. They also did not give me a proper itemized statement with hours worked for each job with a reasonable hourly rate and most importantly receipts for materials and how it was used.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    988

    Default Re: Exorbitant "Cleaning" Charges, a $3000 Security Deposit is Not Even Given Back

    Unless you lease says otherwise, most of the stuff you post reads like ordinary wear and tear and the legal burden may be on LL to prove otherwise IF you get him in front of judge. I'm a LL and often not happy to clean up....and not in CA....I d give myself lousy odds on that list ....unless my lease said you clean it to some ascertainable standard

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Posts
    4

    Angry Re: Landlord is Charging Excessive Cleaning Fees Against the Security Deposit

    Landlord just a received notice from the court with my intent to sue them. They are furious, and after spending the entirety of my $3000 security deposit for dubious "cleaning" charges, he says he will now sue me for $2300 because apparently he was unable to find a renter and for that that lost a months worth rent.

    Do they honestly have a case? This is completely absurd. I don't understand how they feel they can get away with this.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Landlord is Charging Excessive Cleaning Fees Against the Security Deposit

    Unless you left the lease early, it's not your problem they couldn't rerent the apartment. Even if you believed the cleaning above was "necessary" it shouldn't have resulted in failure to rent the apartment for a month.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Landlord is Charging Excessive Cleaning Fees Against the Security Deposit

    I did not leave the lease early, no.

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