Security Deposit Refund
See also Security Deposit - Civil Code Section 1950.5
Deadline
Under California law, 21 calendar days or less after move out, landlord must either:
Send a full refund of Security Deposit, or
Mail or personally deliver to an itemized statement that lists the amounts of any deductions from the security deposit and the reasons for the deductions, together with a refund of any amounts not deducted.
Allowable Charges
California law specifically allows the landlord to use a tenant's security deposit for four purposes:
For unpaid rent;
For cleaning the rental unit when the tenant moves out, but only to make the unit as clean as it was when the tenant first moved in;
For repair of damages, other than normal wear and tear, caused by the tenant or the tenant's guests; and
If the lease or rental agreement allows it, for the cost of restoring or replacing furniture, furnishings, or other items of personal property (including keys), other than because of normal wear and tear.
Carpets & Drapes Replacement
Normal wear and tear to carpets, drapes and other furnishings cannot be charged against a tenant's security deposit. Normal wear and tear includes simple wearing down of carpet and drapes because of normal use or aging, and includes moderate dirt or spotting. In contrast, large rips or indelible stains justify a deduction from the tenant's security deposit for repairing the carpet or drapes, or replacing them if that is reasonably necessary. Here are a couple of methods of calculating charges:
One common method of calculating the deduction for replacement prorates the total cost of replacement so that the tenant pays only for the remaining useful life of the item that the tenant has damaged or destroyed. For example, suppose a tenant has damaged beyond repair an eight-year-old carpet that had a life expectancy of ten years, and that a replacement carpet of similar quality would cost $1,000. The landlord could properly charge only $200 for the two years' worth of life (use) that would have remained if the tenant had not damaged the carpet.
Another method of calculating the deductions is to multiply the carpet life by 12 months; for example, 7 year life times 12 months equals 84 months. Divide carpet cost by the total months; for example, $1,000 divided by 84 months equals $11.90 per month. Now, find the remaining life of the carpet and multiply that with the monthly life rate; for example, the carpet is 5 years and 6 months old, remaining life would be 1 year and 6 months or 18 months. Multiply the 18 months remaining life to the monthly carpet value of $11.90, and you can charge $214.20 in this situation.
Cleaning
A landlord may properly deduct from the departing tenant's security deposit to make the rental unit as clean as it was when the tenant moved in.
A landlord cannot routinely charge each tenant for cleaning carpets, drapes, walls, or windows in order to prepare the rental unit for the next tenancy. Instead, the landlord must look at how well the departing tenant cleaned the rental unit, and may charge cleaning costs only if the departing tenant left the rental unit (or a portion of it) less clean than when he or she moved in. Reasonable cleaning costs would include the cost of such things as eliminating flea infestations left by the tenant's animals, cleaning the oven, removing decals from walls, removing mildew in bathrooms, defrosting the refrigerator, or washing the kitchen floor. But the landlord could not charge for cleaning any of these conditions if they existed at the time that the departing tenant moved in. In addition, the landlord could not charge for the cumulative effects of wear and tear. Suppose, for example, that the tenant had washed the kitchen floor but that it remained dingy because of wax built up over the years. The landlord could not charge the tenant for stripping the built-up wax from the kitchen floor.
The landlord is allowed to deduct from the tenant's security deposit only the reasonable cost of cleaning the rental unit.
Painting
Prorate paint life until 2 years tenancy, don't charge after 2 years tenancy, EXCEPT for damages. Damages include extra primer over dark tenant paint, holes in the wall, drywall repair due to tenant negligence, etc.
Two methods of charging paint:
One approach for determining the amount that the landlord can deduct from the tenant's security deposit for repainting, when repainting is necessary, is based on the length of the tenant's stay in the rental unit. This approach assumes that interior paint has a two-year life. (Some landlords assume that interior paint has a life of three years or more.) Less than 6 mos, Full Cost. 6 mos to 1 year, 2/3 Cost. 1 to 2 years, 1/3 Cost. 2 or more years, no deduction.
Similar to carpet proration, prorate by actual months. For 2 year paint life, find the monthly cost by dividing normal paint charges by 24 months; for example, $400 paint divided by 24 months equals $16.67. If the tenant lived there 15 months, charge the remaining 9 months by mulplying 9 times the $16.67, which equals $150.03. This method c an generate more accurate reimbursement.