Tenant/landlord relationships can either be a dream come true or a complete nightmare. Unfortunately, you don’t always know which way the pendulum will swing until you are well into a lease. About four years back, some friends and I rented this amazing house with a pool, pool house, great location - the works. From the very beginning we always felt like there was something a little off with our landlord. Initially we didn’t think much of it, but as the relationship progressed we started to see the signs. It’s kind of like when you are dating and you don’t realize the guy/girl is a total psycho until about three months into the relationship. Anyways, by the time we were ready to move out we knew for certain that it was going to be a battle getting our deposit back because at this point we knew how shady our landlord really was. Long story short, she tried tired to screw us big time but we were prepared and won when we took her to court! Right now I have a client in a similar situation, so I wanted to offer you some tips on how to deal with a low life landlord:

1. Always do a meet and greet before you sign the lease. If you have a dog, bring them along too! It’s a good idea to meet and lay all expectations out on the table before you get in bed together with your landlord.
2. Do a walk through on move in day. If I am representing you, this is standard and will always be done. If you’ve found a great deal on your own, please make sure you do this! Bring a note pad and walk through each room with the landlord noting all minor and major items that are damaged or need repairing. Not all of it needs to be repaired ASAP, but at least the landlord knows that you are not responsible! Take photos of major items that are damaged (make sure the pic has date and time on it or it will not be submittable in court).
3. If it’s a condo building, make sure that you are delivered a copy of the Rules and Regulations prior to move in. This way you know the rules upfront so that the landlord can’t ding you with any unknown fees (like a fine for wearing shoes in your unit past 10pm - there really are buildings that have these rules).
4. Document all weird or strange incidents with your landlord. Make sure to include date, time, and summary of the occurrence.
5. Upon move out, take photos of everything! Our landlord straight lied her butt off in court and the pics were what saved us! Again, make sure you have date and time on each photograph or it’s a no go in court.
6. If your security deposit is substantially less than what is warranted for standard wear and tear, demand itemized deductions with copies of receipts to back it up. Our landlord tried to charge us $1000 to refill a small pool in the back for no reason.
7. Try to negotiate amicably if you are upset about the lack of deposit you receive back. Court is time consuming and not a great way to spend the day. Hopefully you can avoid it and come to a compromise.
8. If all else fails, take them to court. Typically this is settled in small claims court. Check out the link for more info: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/

I hope this helps! Please feel free to email me with any questions! I dedicate this post to my amazing last landlord, Karen V who was the greatest person I’ve had the privelege to pay rent to and who reinstilled my faith in landlords everywhere!