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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    2

    Angry Vacation Rental Security Deposit

    My question involves a security deposit in the State of California.

    We recently rented a vacation property in Medocino County, and after we returned back to the SF Bay Area, we were contacted by the owners claiming that we damaged the pool table.

    We strongly objected that we did not damage anything, and that we only played pool on the pool table. The owners then sent us pictures of scratches that could not possibly have been caused by our use of the pool table, so we asked if we could return to the property and see these scratches first-hand. The owners have yet to enable us to view the claimed damage.

    The owners are still claiming that they will withhold $500 of our $1000 deposit to cover the damage. Our position is the following:

    • We absolutely did not damage the pool table
    • We have not been given an opportunity to view the damage we are supposed to have created
    • The owners contacted a repair company and received a blind estimate based only on their description, no-one in the company has seen any of the damage, either first-hand or via photographs
    • We have yet to be given a written estimate detailing the charges


    I am very concerned that this is a scam, and that all renters are being asked to pay damages for the scratches on the pool table. The scratches on the table that we saw in photographs looked pretty old, and we are convinced that they existed before we rented the property (hence maybe the reason why we are not given access to view the damage ourselves).

    I have two questions...
    1. Does the property owner have good legal standing to claim out deposit?
    2. Do we have a good case to go to small claims court, assuming that our deposit is withheld?

    Many thanks for all help and advice.

    Pete

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Vacation Rental Security Deposit

    If you don't get the return of money you believe should be returned, as you note you may bring a case in small claims court. We have no way of knowing how weak or how strong the landlord's case is - you know that far better than us.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Vacation Rental Security Deposit

    I stuck to my guns and refused to cave in. I think that the owners could sense a lawsuit by my responses, and the fact that I copied an attorney on all of my correspondence. They finally backed down and refunded all of the deposit.

    I did have a good case against them, they had no proof, no written estimates, did not give us an opportunity to view the damage we were meant to have caused, and they were caught in a lie during one of their responses.

    Thanks

    Pete

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