CA Small claims court ? any experience if it is worth it ...Please share your idea . Renting dispute/?

I rented a room in a small suburb some 30 miles of San Francisco . Things did not work out too well between me and the subleaser who was renting me the room. He and his girl-friend literally harassed me every day . It all started when I protested about his GF's dog shi**ing in my room. I was extremely appauled by their 'hygeine' standards and had to wite a stinging note. After that she , clubbed with him to take vengence.

- They use to shut off the internet at night , when they saw me on PC .

- They Refused to let me use the washer , claiming that I am using power during business hours.

- Turned the volume upto its lungs when I was taking naps.

- There was an all out fight between me and his gf. He became aggressive and threatened to beat me up. I registered a police complain.

Now they refuse to gimme back the deposit and holding money. $500 was the holding money to be adjusted off against the $1000 deposit . The initial agreement was so. However he later said that $500 is the 'service fee' to hold the room. No such fee is mentioned in the agreement.



Now he refuses to refund anything. Just says some crap and hangs up the phone. I am at a $1500 loss.

How does the small claims court in CA look at this ? Is there chance of recovering the amount.

He claims that I trashed the room. He was not there to point out anything at the time I left, since he was out of town. I left him a note to this effect. .

I have pictures to prove the contrary.

What should I do ?CA Small claims court ? any experience if it is worth it ...Please share your idea . Renting dispute/?
I am a landlord in CA.



The service fee BS is illegal in CA, he can't charge you anything at all since you moved in. It can only be used if he held the room and you never moved in.



I am glad you have pictures.



You need to write a letter, demanding a full refund, and file suit 30 days longer if none is received. You should win this without any problem, in fact CA law allows the judge to award 3 times the deposit, while I have never seen any of them actually do that, you very well might get that. It will depend on the judge, but there is no harm in asking.



Let me know if you need help with forms or the legal codes.CA Small claims court ? any experience if it is worth it ...Please share your idea . Renting dispute/?
Small claims court. If you have pictures and they don't, you stand an excellent chance of winning. Your story sounds credible.
oral agreement and no lease mean u lost the court nothin to prove and no evident showing here

lease and written with the refund about the deposit and the stuff you want to mention is in the lease when you sign at the begining u win the court chance are much higherCA Small claims court ? any experience if it is worth it ...Please share your idea . Renting dispute/?
get any witnesses who are knowledgeable about the situation; no friends are needed.



Take any document that confirms things you have said.



she the person holding your money. Take a police report of the incident.



IF he did not attend the "exit walk-through", he is out of biz on that part.



take your pics



relax as much as possible.,



ONLY bring up in court FACTS. As judge says, I told him, he told me--never

"he knew."



get back to me for any more data.
We need to know if you gave proper 30 day notice or not. Irregardless of the other issues, it is legal to keep your deposit if you did not give proper notice. This is pretty standard.



The service fee thing is illegal. No irregular fees are legal unless stated in the lease. If you had no lease then no fees are legal. If ti was originally a holding deposit then it automatically became part of your regular deposit the day you moved in.



EDIT: I know it does not seem fair but they are not legally required to prorate the 30 days rent. If you are there one day into the month it is legal to charge you the full month rent. Prorating is allowed under the law but not required. Not fair- but legal.



Since they served you the 30 day notice, you left the place in good shape and if you do not owe any money then they have no legal grounds to keep your deposit. If they do not return it then you have to sue them for it.CA Small claims court ? any experience if it is worth it ...Please share your idea . Renting dispute/?
Is the lease on paper, if so thats a good thing. If you have pictures with how you left the room, its even better. If the lease states that the 500 dollars you want back, was just a deposit, you are entitled to that money back. Also did you give them cash? if so that may be a problem, but if you have a reciept, money order stub or copy of check then you might've written "check for deposit" or something of the sort on it. This is another good thing. The key here is that usually service fees arent required in a room mate situation. What are these fees for? That make no sense. And since you were basically being bullied, and if you can bring a copy of your police report to court, this will also look good in your favor. The key though, is bringing your proof, and be as "cool as a cucumber". Let your paperwork speak, explain things if the judge ask. But DO NOT get emotional. Judges hate hearing sob stories, and the whole nine yards. They like facts, explanations, and NOT to be interrupted. Let your ex-room mates talk, they seem like assholes, so that'll probably show in court. GOOD LUCK!!!
It sounds like a good case. I hope you sue them. Too bad you didnt have a written agreement but if you noted on your cancelled checks what the money was for that will help prove your case. I would not pay them any rent for your last month. You might get in touch with the landlord and tell him you were renting a room. They may not have done this with his permission.
If they took money for which no service was provided, or cited that there were fees not detailed in your rental agreement, then yes, you have a case in small claims court.



Here are a couple of things to remember though; you can only get back money from actual loss. You cannot be awarded punitive damages nor can the court order the defendant to do anything other than pay you for actual losses.



You must prove your losses. If you handed the guy cash, got no receipt, and he will not admit that you gave him money guess what? You lose because you can't prove your case.



Documentation is the key. Personally, I think you have a case here. But what I can do is recommend an ebook, "Messing With the Man" which covers filing in small claims along with other stuff.



http://cgi.ebay.com/MESSING-WITH-THE-MAN鈥?/a>



Just remember; you have to prove that you had a monetary loss at the fault of the defendant, and that loss along with court fees and associated costs of filing the suit are all that you can get.