Short-term tenant foots bill for cleanup
Question: I lived in a downtown Los Angeles apartment for six months and left the place spotless. Yet the management still charged $400 for cleaning, carpet shampooing and painting from my security deposit. Is this legal?
Answer: Maybe. Apartment owners are allowed to deduct money from security deposits for three things: cleaning, damages and unpaid rent. If the apartment was not as clean when you moved out as it was when you moved in, they could charge you for getting the apartment back to its move-in condition.
An apartment should not need repainting within six months. If they had to repaint, they may be able to charge you for most of the cost of that.
Their receipts are their evidence that they spent the money and, usually, pictures are the evidence that the work needed to be done. You can sue in Small Claims Court if you believe that they have improperly withheld deposit money from you.
If they gave you a written notice based on the move-out inspection report, it should have itemized and identified the work that needed to be done. Beyond that, they can only charge for things that were not visible during the inspection and were found later, after you moved.
Legally, trash policy is rubbish
Question: I have been living in a six-unit, rent-controlled Los Angeles apartment for nine years. In the past, the owner of the building paid a nominal amount to one of the tenants to take out the trash every week. Because of illness this tenant is unable to take out the trash any longer.
The owner recently left all of the tenants a note saying that we would now have to share this responsibility. There is nothing in the rental agreement about taking out trash. Can he do that? Shouldn’t we at least get some kind of nominal payment for this new chore?
Answer: Owners of rent-controlled properties in Los Angeles cannot change the terms of rental agreements with their tenants. They must get tenant approval for almost all changes to the terms. Annual inflation rent increases are one notable exception; taking out the trash is not an exception to the rule.
Communicate with the owner and make him aware of this. If you are willing to do the job for a small fee, make him an offer. If not, let him know that as well.
He should take care when employing tenants to do work for him. It can lead to problems. For instance, if a tenant trips and falls while doing a chore, the owner and his insurance company are exposed to possible claims.
Kevin Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of AAGLA, an apartment owners’ service group. Mail questions on any aspect of apartment living to AAGLA, 12012 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025.
