Suing Your Landlord (And Winning); How to Get Your Deposit Back from a Bad Landlord
TL;DR Landlord makes my living conditions shitty so he offers me an opportunity to move out so I convince two others to move out as well. He ghosts me when I ask for my deposit so I take him to court. I win $650 so he files an appeals. In the appeal, my award is tripled to $1800. He refuses to pay up so I get the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department to go to his bank, freeze his account, and seize his money.
TL;DR Landlord makes my living conditions shitty so he offers me an opportunity to move out so I convince two others to move out as well. He ghosts me when I ask for my deposit so I take him to court. I win $650 so he files an appeals. In the appeal, my award is tripled to $1800. He refuses to pay up so I get the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department to go to his bank, freeze his account, and seize his money.
The Story
Holy crap, this was much longer than I expected after typing it out. I've tried to shorten it as much as possible but here it goes:
Back in 2018, I had a temporary internship in California at {insert large tech company} so I took a recommendation from a friend about a room for rent. It would be living with 5 other people, but otherwise, it looked fantastic with spacious common areas, multiple huge TVs, full amenities, community rec center w/ pool, short drive times to multiple places of interest, all for $650/month, utilities included. I contacted the landlord whom I will refer to as ShittyLandlord. He seemed fine on the phone, so I sent him my security deposit to move in a month later.
When it came time to move in, I discover a few caveats that came with this low rent price. The common areas were all dusty, none of the 3 large TVs worked properly, if we wanted access to the rec center and pool, we'd need to pay the $80/mo membership fee, and all of the ‘short drives' time estimates were exaggerated, unless you were speeding at 2x the speed limit. Whatever, it's not the end of the world, especially at the relatively low price. I'll survive.
But then it got worse in the coming months. ShittyLandlord decided to charge us an extra $20/month for ‘paper towels and public cleaning supplies', ShittyLandlord only checked the community mailbox once a week when he was in town and refused to trust anybody with the mailbox key. As it starts to roll into the summer, in June, ShittyLandlord decided that A/C costs too much and we were using too much, so he removed the thermostat from the wall. Um, ok. One day some of us tenants confronted him when he was at the house (since ShittyLandlord also slept at the house about <1 day/week) and I'll never forget his words as he rushed out of the house:
"It's legal for me to do it and I don't care since I don't have to live here."
Well sir, fuck you.
I'm tilted as fuck at this guy's obvious money grab from 6 tenants. Well it turns out he's right, he legally doesn't need to provide air conditioning. So, the next day I purchase a high BTU free-standing portable air conditioner that exhausts out the window. Holy shit, this thing was luxury. Of course I pump my room to 65°F, the lowest setting.
We have a couple other minor disagreements that wind up with ShittyLandlord texting me that it's fine if I wanted to break my lease and move out early. Perfect.
When ShittyLandlord finally gets a whiff of my A/C setup he comes to my room to complain about my A/C unit. I reply curtly:
"It's legal for me to do it and I don't care since I don't have to pay for electricity."
He leaves and later sends me a text.
Yea ok. Unbeknownst to ShittyLandlord, I'm taking his move-out offer seriously and this whole time, I've been rallying the troops. All the tenants have been upset about everyone's living situation so with some minor encouragement, I manage to convince two of the other 6 tenants to move out at the same time as me. (They were on a month-to-month arrangement.) I finally submit all our ‘Notices of Intent to Vacate' at the same time, barely a week after my previous conversation with ShittyLandlord. He's pissed. He was just trying to get me out of the house but now he has 3 rooms to fill instead of just 1. I ask about my legally mandated pre-moveout inspection. In no uncertain terms he told me to go fuck myself. He said he's too busy to perform an inspection. Hm, well that's illegal but ok.
Time comes to move out
I found another room for rent much closer to the office for only $100/mo more. We all move out and I text ShittyLandlord about my security deposit.
No response.
I text again.
No response. Ok, I see where this is going.
I spend days and days reading the law, compiling evidence/screenshots, and listing the laws that were broken. The smoking gun was the statute that requires a pre-move-out inspection and a list of things to fix, and itemized list of deductions within 21 days or else ShittyLandlord loses the right to withhold any of my deposit. In addition, he would be subject to treble damages if he's found to be acting in bad faith.
I text again and again. I give him plenty of leniency and I even cite the laws so I can prove in court that I'm acting ‘In Good Faith' and ShittyLandlord intentionally ignored the laws that I made him aware about. ShittyLandlord probably thinks I'm a young push-over college student who won't follow through with legal threats. Well sir, we're going to court because I'm petty as fuck when it comes to people trying to fuck me over.
Legal Proceedings
I file in small claims for $650 plus treble damages, plus court costs. ShittyLandlord files a counterclaim of $2000 for ‘damages to the property' claiming I caused flooding, and I broke the microwave. Ok buddy.
In response, I gather testimonies from 3 of the other tenants and I build my case into a 40-page packet of evidence, complete with page numbers, a table of contents, and descriptions for every screenshot and photo. I make 3 copies of everything and submit it to the court and the defendant ShittyLandlord.
The court date is set for November and I leave the state just before Christmas so just in time to appear in person since my internship ends and I fly home in December.
He starts filing to requests to postpone the trial. He cites a doctor's appointment and the motion is granted. Court date is rescheduled for month later, in December but still before I fly home. New court date approaches and he files another request to postpone, citing another doctor's appointment. Somehow that motion is granted as well and we're rescheduled yet again to January. Darn. January rolls around and surprise surprise, guess who's got another doctor's appointment conveniently on the same exact day of the trial? Denied. The court finally got of his bullshit and denied the motion because he can't prove he scheduled the doctor's appointment prior to the court date being moved.
Welp. I'm not in CA anymore, I'm across the country on the east coast. ShittyLandlord thinks if I'm no longer in the state, he'll automatically win since I'm not willing to fly back to CA. Well unbeknownst to ShittyLandlord, California courts offer an option to appear by telephone. Haha.
Judgement Day #1
Court day comes and I get the call. I'm sworn in and then connected to the court. I'm given time to present my case. Unfortunately, I didn't prepare a script so I kinda summarize the events and explain why I deserve money. Then ShittyLandlord gets time to defend himself and explain his counterclaim. He doesn't prepare anything either and he ends up rambling about random shit that doesn't help his case at all. For example, he spends a lot of time explaining how another one of the tenants was shitty and so his behavior was justified. He doesn't even have a sliver of evidence for his counterclaim when the judge asks for it. The judge asks a few more questions and announces that he'll review the evidence and we'll get the decision in the mail.
A couple weeks later, I get the judgement saying I'm owed $650, ShittyLandlord gets nothing. Well damn, no treble damages for me. However, it's just my luck the ShittyLandlord is a piece of shit that won't accept defeat. He files an appeal for who-knows-what. It's granted. Re-do trial is scheduled for May.
Judgement Day #2
This time I'm 10x more prepared. Once again, I'm sworn in and then they connect me to the courtroom speaker. This time I have a hashed out script that I read, making sure to emphasize how often I informed ShittyLandlord of the law, how often ShittyLandlord knowingly broke the law, and how I offered so much leniency and so many opportunities to do the right thing. Once again, ShittyLandlord doesn't prepare anything, but instead rambles on so much that even the judge tells him to get back on track multiple times. ShittyLandlord claims I caused water damage and had to replace all the carpets. The judge asks for an invoice or receipt. He has none. ShittyLandlord claims I broke the microwave so the judge reads him the 3 witness statements that all state I didn't break the microwave. ShittyLandlord says they're all lying. He still has no evidence whatsoever. At this point, the judge clearly sounds done with his shit and says we'll get his decision in the mail and the call ends.
Getting My Money
A couple weeks later, I get the judgement. I'm owed $1800 and ShittyLandlord still gets nothing. Well damn, would you look at that. His appeal did not quite work out for him. He goes from owing $650 to owing me $1800. Being the shit head that he is, he files for a mistrial, claiming I was not sworn in and that I lied in my testimony. Denied.
Outside of court, ShittyLandlord offers a payment plan of $20/month which will take 7.5 years to pay back, or otherwise he refuses to pay up. Ok, I see how collecting my money is going to be.
I figure out he banks at BoA by looking up the checks I gave him for rent and seeing where they got cashed. I file for a writ of execution that will allow me to perform a bank levy. It's granted so I prepare a packet for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to go to BoA and take his money. LACSD serves him with papers and orders BoA to freeze his account. After his allotted time (30d) to contest the seizure, LACSD seizes his money, plus 10% APY interest, plus Sheriff fees.
I finally get the glorious check in the mail, 20 months after moving out. I'll probably frame it. (Spoiler from the future: I did)
Total: $1,893.91
Edit: for everyone telling me to cash the check, I already deposited the money into my bank account via mobile check depositing.
Edit2: Small claims cases are CHEAP to file. You'll pay about $50 in most states and it'll rarely be as high as $100. Plus, the loser has to pay you back when you win.
Edit3: Tips for situations like this:
- Find small claims guides! There's a plethora of helpful information out there because everybody wants you to win. Even the court wants you to win! At least in CA, they offer a free in-person "Small Claims Advisory Clinic" where employees advise you and walk you through the whole process. Make sure you know the process and what to expect.
- Document everything. Have conversations through test or email if possible for easy screenshots. Photograph everything, even if you don't think it's important because the landlord might just claim you damaged it.
- Do your research on the law. Know what is legal and illegal and know the penalties for violations.
- Compile evidence against your landlord AND cite the laws that they are breaking. The easier you make it for the judge to see that you're right, the more likely they'll side with you.
- Get supporting witness statements. It changes the case from he-said/she-said where the landlord is calling you a liar, to a 4v1 where the landlord has to call everybody a liar. Just don't commit hearsay lol. Have them appear in person or have them sign and submit a ‘declaration'.
- Follow procedures to the T. Last thing you want is for your evidence to be thrown out because you didn't send a copy to the defendant at least 10 days before the court date.
- Come to court prepared and remember the 7Ps: Proper Planning and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance. Judges like people who are on top of their shit. If you come to court unprepared, thinking that you can just talk your way to a win, it will be dead obvious.
- Don't expect the process to be quick. It'll take a while for your landlord to get their comeuppance but it'll be worth it. At the end of the day, the courts want you to win, it'll just take a while.
