California - held deposit past 21 days, HELP!

[Carlos Martinez]

We had a tenant who moved out.  He had TONS of clutter around the property and said he'd move everything out slowly.  He gave the key day 1.  around day 14 or so i text him telling him we need to remove his junk off the property in a couple weeks as we're going to get a trash hauler to remove any junk he leaves behind (he understood that we'd take that off his deposit).  he asked for an extension and we lost track of time.  so we got the itemized list on sunday (22nd day) and that's when we gave him the $1000 quote from the trash hauler.  he wants at least 1500 back (from a 3k intial deposit) and said he would take us to court since we passed the 21st day.  After the trash haul, he'd only get $325 back.   Does he have legal recourse?  I know we're passed the 21st day and we've been communicating with him about this consistently.  Should we be worried?

[Greg M.]

Easiest thing: Have a lawyer send him a "Go F*** Yourself" letter. You asked for an extension to remove your belongings, therefore you waived your right to a 21 day return, blah, blah, blah. If you sue, my client will countersue in Superior Court for lost rent while cleaning the place, lost time spent dealing with it, etc.