HELP! tenant suing

[Denise Cardwell]

Bought a property in California in Jan. from another investor, already tenant occupied. Tenant decided to move out February with no thirty day notice, previous landlord never did a move in inspection. Per old lease tenant moved in early received 4 days of free rent in return for cleaning. Tenant took pictures of place when moved in and it was dirty. Since tenant moved out I charged for cracked window, lock changed because i did not receive them until the 1st, paint because of discoloration of walls from grease in kitchen only. Now tenant is suing for security deposit because of the charges I applied to security deposit. Tenant lived in unit for 6 months signed my new lease but I told her it was not valid because she marked through parts of the lease and put n/a on clauses so I told her I would refer to the old lease. Am I wrong for charging these fees?

[Michael Rogers]

@Denise Cardwell

How much money did you keep of the security deposit?  Is this less than $1000.  If it is, I'd probably just give them their money back and learn from the experience.

Here's why...  You've bought a property that already had a tenant in it and you probably don't have good documentation to support the condition of the property at the time the tenant moved in.  You would need to be able to prove that the property was in good condition when the tenant moved in and that the damages were the result of excessive wear and tear by the tenant.  In order to prove the excessive wear and tear it would be good to have your own photos at move-in and move-out as well as a room-by-room detail condition report that both you and the tenant signed at move-in documenting that the broken items cited were in working order at move-in.   

It sounds like the tenant even took photos to show what "terrible" condition it was in when they moved in.  So they will be presenting evidence (pictures, etc) to the judge documenting they lived in a "slumlord's property" who is now trying to unfairly keep their deposit.  Judges tend to side with the tenant in these type of disputes unless you have strong documentation to support your position.  Given that you are in California, the law is even more favorable to the tenant.

My advice is to refund the money and move-on.  Good luck and let us know how it turns out.