daydreamer33
New Member
My jurisdiction is: San Bernardino County, California
Here is my situation- apologies in advance for its length. I would really appreciate some legal advice. I am a first time landlord on a 2 story, 3 bedroom/2.5 bathroom condo, approximately 1400 square feet located in Redlands, CA. Our tenants just finished their 1 year lease this week and I know that I have 21 days under CA law to return the deposit. There are some issues however and I am wondering what I am legally entitled to deduct from her $1000 security deposit?
1) Rent Late Fees - in the last 6 months, her rent has been late 5 of those months. I call her on a monthly basis around the 6th if I have not received her check to find out if payment was mailed yet. She normally says something to effect of yes, things just got busy, and I would say ok. I have never attempted to collect the late fees from her although in the lease agreement it specifically states that the fee is $10/day until payment is received. There was even a month when the check was late and was short $100 supposedly due to a new accountant in their office. For the current month of November, she moved out on the 10th. Rent is due on the 1st, late fees are commence on the 6th. It is now the 14th and still no rent check has been received. I asked her again about this last payment and she states her father definitely sent the check by the 5th (which would still mean her payment would have arrived late). Now she says that if I don't receive the check in the mail by today, Nov 14th, I should just deduct it from the security deposit. She seems to think she is not responsible if her check is lost in the mail and it's no longer her responsibility once she puts it in the mailbox to be sent out. What am I entitled to collect on late fees? Am I legally entitled to collect the late fees from previous months? I wrote down the dates the checks were actually received for my own record. Can these fees be deducted from the security deposit? And for November, if I do deduct her partial month payment from the security deposit, am I entitled to any late fees for November?
July- payment arrived on the 9th. August - 7th. September - on time. October - 8th. November - not yet received.
For future reference, once we get new tenants in the condo, how should I deal with late fees? How should I keep proof of late arrival dates? Must I keep the postmarked envelopes in which they arrive? Is my written documentation of the dates received enough to hold up in court?
2) Missing mailbox key (spoke to USPS and they said it would be $50 to redo the locks because copies of keys cannot just be made) - Tenant insists that keys can be duplicated but due to security issues and identity theft problems, I do not feel comfortable with that (even if it were an option) in order to protect the interests of my future tenants.
3) Inside of oven was not cleaned and laminate wood flooring not cleaned- condo was professionally cleaned prior to move-in.
4) Sub par paint work - paint on door frames, baseboards, etc... (her family owns a handyman business and we allowed her to repaint all our walls & ceiling with materials we provided for $1000 deduction from her initial rent payment- but we never insisted on seeing the work done until after they had moved out. They ended up doing a pretty poor job. Doors & baseboards were not included but it looks like they did not tape up upstairs so there is peach paint around the door frames & baseboards and uneven paint coverage on the walls)
5) Missing patio furniture (1 round glass table + 4 plastic chairs - I probably paid about $50 for the set when I bought it new 4 years ago)
6) Missing storage cabinets (Probably paid $50 for them new 4 years ago)
7) Missing floor lamp (Probably paid $15 for it new 4 years ago)
(I do not have receipts for missing items)
I informed her of the missing items and she said her family may have just taken everything while moving unknowingly and if she locates them, she will return them by placing them on our back patio (open side gate). How long should I give her to return these items before assuming that they will not be returned?
I was not aware of the CA laws that came into effect in regards to providing written notification to tenants for the opportunity to conduct a walk-through inspection prior to vacating the premises so this was not done. We met in person on the 13th so that she could return all the keys & garage door openers to me. She appeared in a great rush and we did not really conduct a thorough walk-through together. I pointed out the issues of the missing patio furniture and mail key while she was there and later that day realized the other issues. She says that since I did not bring up the other issues while she was present that it basically waives my rights to bring any of them up and she is not responsible for any of it.
Some background as well is that because she and her family run a local handyman business, when she called me about an issue with the master bath shower diverter early in her lease and said that she could have Gerald, her roommate and worker, look at it and fix it because it would only be about $15 for the parts, I said that would be fine and she could send me the receipt for the parts so I could reimburse her for it. Other issues that came up during her tenancy is that the dryer stopped working properly (in the lease, the washer/dryer & refrigerator were not warranted and if they failed to work, she could ask us to dispose of them). We decided to purchase a newer washer/dryer set for her though instead which Gerald ended up picking up and installing himself. The overhead microwave ceased working as well later in the lease and we offered a countertop microwave in its place which she refused due to a supposed lack of space and so to accommodate her, we purchased a microwave which Gerald installed on his own again. No agreements were made to pay for Gerald's labor for these issues. We were trying to be accommodating landlords by providing the new appliances for them. They also replaced a ceiling fan in one of the bedrooms (without our knowledge) and left it there upon moving out (no sign of where the old ceiling fan is). They also fixed the functionality of a ceiling fan in the stairwell that was not operational except for the lighting kit. We said if they wanted to see if they could get it to work, that would be great, but by no means did we say we would pay them to do so.
She is now threatening to put a lien against our condo to charge us for everything they did in the condo in retaliation to the security deposit issues I listed and states that we had a verbal contract that allowed her to do so (taking my statement about the shower diverter out of context to apply to anything else they chose to do themselves). I have attached a copy of our lease agreement for review as well. Section 22 specifically states that "all alterations/improvements made by or cause to be made by Tenant, with or without Landlord's consent, become the property of the Landlord upon termination." Would she have any leg to stand on in court if it came to that?
She also refused us entry into the condo in the entire month of October so that we could show the place to prospective tenants due to her discomfort at allowing people to see her belongings and the condo being in a state of disarray from packing. We would give her several days notice by phone to request coming by. I am wondering if I am required to give written notice instead? And how I should have handled that situation? Unfortunately, it has put me in a bind now because everyone who expressed interest in the condo has since signed a lease elsewhere since I was refused entry until after November 3rd.
She did not provide me with written notice of her intent to not renew the lease. In the lease, it stated she was to give me at least 60 days notice in writing. I had to call her several times in September to find out her intentions. When she finally returned my call she said she would have an answer for me by the end of September which again left me in a bind to prepare for new tenant. She did finally give me verbal notice about 40 days prior to the end of the lease that she did intend on moving out and kept wavering on the exact date she wanted to leave. I finally made her pinpoint the 10th and come the end of October, she asked if she could only pay for whatever days in November she ended up staying if she was able to move out early. I took the 10th as a commitment for tenancy til that time and for a prorated rent payment for that time period as well. In the end, she needed the entire time to move out but was I within my rights to not grant her an even earlier move-out date?
Being a landlord can be such a headache.
I just want to make sure that I am within my legal rights and that I protect myself. I am not trying to just be nitpicky and I have no desire to keep money that is not rightfully mine. I do think people should be held accountable for written contracts. She apparently did NOT read the lease thoroughly before signing because she seems unaware of any of her responsibilities. I also want to make sure that I am prepared for my next tenants and learn from this not-so-pleasant first experience being a landlord.
Here is my situation- apologies in advance for its length. I would really appreciate some legal advice. I am a first time landlord on a 2 story, 3 bedroom/2.5 bathroom condo, approximately 1400 square feet located in Redlands, CA. Our tenants just finished their 1 year lease this week and I know that I have 21 days under CA law to return the deposit. There are some issues however and I am wondering what I am legally entitled to deduct from her $1000 security deposit?
1) Rent Late Fees - in the last 6 months, her rent has been late 5 of those months. I call her on a monthly basis around the 6th if I have not received her check to find out if payment was mailed yet. She normally says something to effect of yes, things just got busy, and I would say ok. I have never attempted to collect the late fees from her although in the lease agreement it specifically states that the fee is $10/day until payment is received. There was even a month when the check was late and was short $100 supposedly due to a new accountant in their office. For the current month of November, she moved out on the 10th. Rent is due on the 1st, late fees are commence on the 6th. It is now the 14th and still no rent check has been received. I asked her again about this last payment and she states her father definitely sent the check by the 5th (which would still mean her payment would have arrived late). Now she says that if I don't receive the check in the mail by today, Nov 14th, I should just deduct it from the security deposit. She seems to think she is not responsible if her check is lost in the mail and it's no longer her responsibility once she puts it in the mailbox to be sent out. What am I entitled to collect on late fees? Am I legally entitled to collect the late fees from previous months? I wrote down the dates the checks were actually received for my own record. Can these fees be deducted from the security deposit? And for November, if I do deduct her partial month payment from the security deposit, am I entitled to any late fees for November?
July- payment arrived on the 9th. August - 7th. September - on time. October - 8th. November - not yet received.
For future reference, once we get new tenants in the condo, how should I deal with late fees? How should I keep proof of late arrival dates? Must I keep the postmarked envelopes in which they arrive? Is my written documentation of the dates received enough to hold up in court?
2) Missing mailbox key (spoke to USPS and they said it would be $50 to redo the locks because copies of keys cannot just be made) - Tenant insists that keys can be duplicated but due to security issues and identity theft problems, I do not feel comfortable with that (even if it were an option) in order to protect the interests of my future tenants.
3) Inside of oven was not cleaned and laminate wood flooring not cleaned- condo was professionally cleaned prior to move-in.
4) Sub par paint work - paint on door frames, baseboards, etc... (her family owns a handyman business and we allowed her to repaint all our walls & ceiling with materials we provided for $1000 deduction from her initial rent payment- but we never insisted on seeing the work done until after they had moved out. They ended up doing a pretty poor job. Doors & baseboards were not included but it looks like they did not tape up upstairs so there is peach paint around the door frames & baseboards and uneven paint coverage on the walls)
5) Missing patio furniture (1 round glass table + 4 plastic chairs - I probably paid about $50 for the set when I bought it new 4 years ago)
6) Missing storage cabinets (Probably paid $50 for them new 4 years ago)
7) Missing floor lamp (Probably paid $15 for it new 4 years ago)
(I do not have receipts for missing items)
I informed her of the missing items and she said her family may have just taken everything while moving unknowingly and if she locates them, she will return them by placing them on our back patio (open side gate). How long should I give her to return these items before assuming that they will not be returned?
I was not aware of the CA laws that came into effect in regards to providing written notification to tenants for the opportunity to conduct a walk-through inspection prior to vacating the premises so this was not done. We met in person on the 13th so that she could return all the keys & garage door openers to me. She appeared in a great rush and we did not really conduct a thorough walk-through together. I pointed out the issues of the missing patio furniture and mail key while she was there and later that day realized the other issues. She says that since I did not bring up the other issues while she was present that it basically waives my rights to bring any of them up and she is not responsible for any of it.
Some background as well is that because she and her family run a local handyman business, when she called me about an issue with the master bath shower diverter early in her lease and said that she could have Gerald, her roommate and worker, look at it and fix it because it would only be about $15 for the parts, I said that would be fine and she could send me the receipt for the parts so I could reimburse her for it. Other issues that came up during her tenancy is that the dryer stopped working properly (in the lease, the washer/dryer & refrigerator were not warranted and if they failed to work, she could ask us to dispose of them). We decided to purchase a newer washer/dryer set for her though instead which Gerald ended up picking up and installing himself. The overhead microwave ceased working as well later in the lease and we offered a countertop microwave in its place which she refused due to a supposed lack of space and so to accommodate her, we purchased a microwave which Gerald installed on his own again. No agreements were made to pay for Gerald's labor for these issues. We were trying to be accommodating landlords by providing the new appliances for them. They also replaced a ceiling fan in one of the bedrooms (without our knowledge) and left it there upon moving out (no sign of where the old ceiling fan is). They also fixed the functionality of a ceiling fan in the stairwell that was not operational except for the lighting kit. We said if they wanted to see if they could get it to work, that would be great, but by no means did we say we would pay them to do so.
She is now threatening to put a lien against our condo to charge us for everything they did in the condo in retaliation to the security deposit issues I listed and states that we had a verbal contract that allowed her to do so (taking my statement about the shower diverter out of context to apply to anything else they chose to do themselves). I have attached a copy of our lease agreement for review as well. Section 22 specifically states that "all alterations/improvements made by or cause to be made by Tenant, with or without Landlord's consent, become the property of the Landlord upon termination." Would she have any leg to stand on in court if it came to that?
She also refused us entry into the condo in the entire month of October so that we could show the place to prospective tenants due to her discomfort at allowing people to see her belongings and the condo being in a state of disarray from packing. We would give her several days notice by phone to request coming by. I am wondering if I am required to give written notice instead? And how I should have handled that situation? Unfortunately, it has put me in a bind now because everyone who expressed interest in the condo has since signed a lease elsewhere since I was refused entry until after November 3rd.
She did not provide me with written notice of her intent to not renew the lease. In the lease, it stated she was to give me at least 60 days notice in writing. I had to call her several times in September to find out her intentions. When she finally returned my call she said she would have an answer for me by the end of September which again left me in a bind to prepare for new tenant. She did finally give me verbal notice about 40 days prior to the end of the lease that she did intend on moving out and kept wavering on the exact date she wanted to leave. I finally made her pinpoint the 10th and come the end of October, she asked if she could only pay for whatever days in November she ended up staying if she was able to move out early. I took the 10th as a commitment for tenancy til that time and for a prorated rent payment for that time period as well. In the end, she needed the entire time to move out but was I within my rights to not grant her an even earlier move-out date?
Being a landlord can be such a headache.
I just want to make sure that I am within my legal rights and that I protect myself. I am not trying to just be nitpicky and I have no desire to keep money that is not rightfully mine. I do think people should be held accountable for written contracts. She apparently did NOT read the lease thoroughly before signing because she seems unaware of any of her responsibilities. I also want to make sure that I am prepared for my next tenants and learn from this not-so-pleasant first experience being a landlord.
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