That you are a single mom is irrelevant. Her demands are not harassment. It's called "dunning" and it's perfectly legal when somebody has reason to believe that you owe money to that person.

Your lease WAS with the owner. The property manager was her agent, acting on her instructions and authority for which she was directly responsible.

Any legal issues regarding the property is between you and her.

But the question isn't about who you deal with, it's about whether or not you left any damages behind that you can be charged for.

Did you?

If you didn't, can you prove you didn't? Did you take photos when you moved in? When you moved out?

If it's clear that you did not leave any damages behind, then I suggest you respond in writing to the owner that you had no pet and did not leave any damages and refer her to the California Security Deposit Statute that she has obviously violated and can be held accountable for.

You can read it at Section 1950.5 at:

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

I suggest you become familiar with the entire landlord tenant statute at that link if you hope to avoid this kind of stuff in the future.

Here's also a helpful guide published by the state that cites statute sections and case law:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/l...k/catenant.pdf