State Law Specifies Expenses Covered by the...

State Law Specifies Expenses Covered by the Security Deposit

Question: I am a Los Angeles landlord with a tenant moving out. He rented a room in my house for 2 1/2 years and had his own bathroom. I have his deposit on the rental room and I don’t know what expenses can be deducted from it. Can I deduct for repainting, carpet cleaning and bathroom cleaning?

Answer: Expenses for cleaning, including carpet and bathroom cleaning, are specifically allowed by California law, assuming the rental was clean when the tenant moved in to it and is dirty when he moves out. Under the law, you can bill the tenant for the costs of cleaning.

Defining normal wear and tear, and appropriate security deposit deductions for painting, is a much grayer area of the law. They are not specifically spelled out in the code.

While tenants are not responsible for “normal wear and tear” on an apartment, nor its paint job, they are responsible for damages or the prorated costs of needed repainting before its useful life is over.

Since paint should last longer than 2 1/2 years, you can deduct something for the painting. How much is the question. Many small claims court judges, who usually settle security deposit disputes, have ruled that the useful life (normal wear and tear) of paint jobs is five years. Others have ruled differently, allowing more or less time in defining paint’s normal wear and tear.

I would deduct half of the cost of the painting, reasoning that one half of the paint’s useful life was over when the tenant moved out.

Even if your tenant sues you in small claims court and a judge subsequently disagrees with the five-year time frame, it demonstrates reasonableness on your part, and judges love reasonable people.

Relocation Fees Apply to Rent-Control Areas

Q: I’m 76 years old and have been renting a Van Nuys four-plex for the last four years. The new owners want to sell, and I’m concerned about relocation fees.

A while ago a friend of mine who lives in L.A. gave me one of your columns, in which you answered a question about relocation fees. Since I live in the Valley and not L.A., I’m not sure if the relocation fees law applies to me.

A: Although the “city” of Van Nuys has retained its local identity by keeping the name, it actually still is part of L.A. city, just as Sherman Oaks in the Valley and Venice on the Westside retain their names but are also parts of L.A.

If the apartment unit in which you live falls under the city’s rent-control law, you are entitled to relocation fees in the amount of $5,000, to which seniors over 62 years of age are entitled. Other “qualified” tenants--handicapped or those with minor children--also get $5,000. Others get $2,000.

Deposit Increases Are Permissible

Q: I live in Brentwood. The 30-day notice of change of terms of tenancy states that our security deposit, pursuant to California Civil Code section 827, is being increased along with the rent by the 3% allowed by the Los Angeles City rent-control law.

I’ve never heard of deposits being increased. Is this legal? Are we obligated to pay the increase of our deposit?

A: State civil code section 827 does allow apartment owners to increase security deposits with rents and the Los Angeles city rent-control law does too. Since you indicate that your apartment is under the city’s rent-control law, you should go ahead and pay the legally authorized 3% security deposit increase. Failure to pay it can result in eviction.

Deposit Is Returned if Unit Can Be Re-Rented

Q: My husband and I have just bought a new house that’s still under construction. It will be ready to move into in late March or early April. We now live in an apartment, and that lease expires in June. If we give the landlady two to three month’s notice of our move, will we get our deposit back, or will we lose it for breaking the lease?

A: You do not automatically lose deposit money because you break a lease. Deposits can only be used to pay for three things. They include damages, cleaning and unpaid rent.

Under a lease agreement, you are liable for the rent after you move out until the unit is re-rented. If the unit is re-rented after you move out, and before the lease expires, you have no further liability for unpaid rent because California law does not allow landlords to collect double rents.

It is smart to give the landlord as much notice as possible before moving because you improve the chances of a quick turnover.

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Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of AAGLA, an apartment owners’ service group. Mail your questions about apartment living to AAGLA, 12012 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., CA 90025.