Please consult with your own attorney for legal advice.Because you state you are in CA, I assume your rental is also in CA and that the rental is a dwelling unit for the tenant.If you (1) notified the tenant in writing of the tenant’s option to request an initial inspection and of the tenant’s right to be present at the inspection, and (2) if the tenant requested an initial inspection, and (3) if the inspection occurred, and (4) if at the inspection you gave the tenant a written itemized statement specifying repairs or cleanings that you proposed to be the basis of any deductions from the security the landlord intends to make (and all statutory notices), and (5) if the tenant had the opportunity during the period following the initial inspection to remedy the identified deficiencies, in order to avoid deductions from the security, and (6) if the tenant did not remedy the deficiencies identified in the itemized statement, then, you may withhold from the security deposit sufficient amounts to pay for damages including damage from smoking.

It’s sounds like you’re familiar with the area but I’ll give you (and other investors) the run down anyway …Summer time is better than winter, assuming no forest fires/smoke.

@Karthik Cherukuri the ENTIRE Austin metro is smoking hot - north, south, east, and west.

They left the unit in very bad shape (holes in walls, cigarette smoke smell, soiling and damage from unauthorized pets, graffiti and intentional damage, unflushed turd and vomit in the toilet, drug paraphernalia and liquor bottles, disgusting furniture and trash left behind, fridge, dishwasher and oven looked like crime scenes, cockroaches in the cabinets, grease down the drain, literally the works).

Most never make it to the application phase-they get rejected, but never really-smoking, pets, too many, whatever, gone....

They can show you how to use a metal detector.