Landlord Headaches w/ Los Angeles Tenants

[Juan Ayala]

BP Fam,

So recently i had some tenants who moved out a month before there lease ended and came give me no notice. I found out because the downstairs tenants of mine complained that they heard running water all throughout the day and dident want it to be a water leak which would result in it leaking over to there bottom unit. So i attempted to reach the tenant by text and phone various times and no response after a few hours. So i sent my GC in and he had to pick the lock in order to get in only to find out the toilet was running but not leaking. Finally i heard from the tenants who's unit we just got in and they told us they had moved out and were unaware of the toilet leaking. So since we changed the lock i offered to meet up with them and give them the key. They said no because they did not plan on returning. It was evident since they had nothing left in the property. They then started to complain about previous issues with rodents and even complained with the department of health. They had no grounds to stand on as i responded within 24-48 hours and sent pest exterminators in. So i took there security deposit and notified them by email. Apparently after discussion with another attorney was informed i messed up by not sending them the itemized report of me taking there security deposit by mail. Keep in mind all previous and i mean ALL previous correspondence was by electronic mail or text message. I've moved on and re rented this unit but now i have some utility bills that they owe and have no way of reaching them. They ignore the invoice our property management system sends as well as our text messages. They only owe us about $140 in bills. I've decided to chop it up as a loss but figured i drop my story on here and see what everyone suggest i do and maybe a system i can report these individuals too in order to prevent other landlords from coming across these same types of tenants. They had to nerve to ask me for there security deposit back even after leaving with no notice and 30 days ahead of the lease termination. Would love to hear thoughts on this BP family?