Sierra Apartments    |    Marko Gaspar    |    Los Angeles    ,    California 90024    Landlord Complaint 23-3121

Dear Marco, It has come to our attention that there were some major deductions from our security deposit. One being $400 for painting, the other being $120 for cleaning. I believe there has been a mistake, as these deductions are not legal. California Civil Code Section 1950.5 only permits a landlord to use a tenant's security deposit to pay for the costs of: (1) unpaid rent; (2) cleaning the rental unit after you vacate (but only to what it was before you moved in); (3) repairing damage caused by the tenant that goes beyond normal wear and tear; and (4) if provided in the lease, replacing keys, laundry cards, garage openers, etc. "If a tenant returns the rental in substantially the same condition in which it was rented (less reasonable wear and tear), the landlord must return the entire security deposit. A landlord cannot deduct for painting, or steam cleaning, or replacing the carpets, unless there was serious damage. The landlord is allowed to deduct the cost of cleaning if necessary, but only if necessary to put the rental unit back to the same level of cleanliness it was in at the time the property was leased." California Civil Code Section 1950.5 It is my belief that we should receive the deposit back in full. First, there is no serious damage to the walls beyond normal wear and tear. Therefore, we should not be charged for painting. I also believe we should not be charged for cleaning. First, we do not have carpet so there is no need to charge us for carpet cleaning. Second, the law states that we can only be charged for cleaning if the apartment was dirtier when we moved out than when we moved in. On our move in date, the apartment was nowhere near ready to move into. We were paying rent and the walls were still being painted, several of our appliances were not in working order, the showers were not ready for use, there were items left on the balcony from previous tenants, the refrigerator shelves were broken and the inside was filthy, the floors were filthy as the hardwood floors had just been put in. We had to clean the apartment ourselves when we moved in, and also cleaned when we moved out. The apartment was actually cleaner when we moved out than when we moved in. Therefore, we should receive the security deposit back in its entirety.