Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.
The landlord charges you for ordinary wear and tear
high likelihoodThe landlord bills you for repainting, carpet cleaning, or "making good" the unit, treating ordinary deterioration as damage.
What answers it
California does not allow a deposit to be applied to normal wear and tear. § 1950.5(e): a landlord may not claim against the deposit "for damages to the premises or any defective conditions that preexisted the tenancy, for ordinary wear and tear or the effects thereof". Repairs are limited to "a reasonable amount necessary to restore the premises back to the condition it was in at the inception of the tenancy, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear", and cleaning only to the level of cleanliness at the inception of the tenancy. Ask the landlord to identify, item by item, what exceeds that standard, and to produce the move-in condition record that shows the item was not already worn when you took possession.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5
"The carpet/paint had to be replaced"
high likelihoodThe landlord charges the full cost of a new carpet, new paint or a new appliance against your deposit.
What answers it
A tenant is not liable for the full replacement cost of an item that was already part-way through its useful life. The recoverable figure is the depreciated value of the remaining life, not a new-for-old replacement. Ask for the installation date and the invoice; carpet is conventionally depreciated over five to ten years and interior paint over two to four. A landlord who cannot date the item cannot prove the loss, and in a deposit case the landlord carries the burden.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5
"We never received a forwarding address"
high likelihoodThe landlord says it could not return the deposit because it did not know where to send it.
What answers it
Produce the written record — the email, the text, the certified-mail receipt, the notice-to-vacate that carried the address, or the change-of-address confirmation from the postal service. A landlord who received the address and did nothing cannot rely on this. If the address genuinely was never given, give it now in writing: in most states that starts the clock rather than ending the claim.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5
"We sent you the itemisation"
high likelihoodThe landlord asserts it posted the itemised statement inside the statutory window and that you simply did not receive it.
What answers it
Ask for proof of despatch, not proof of intention: the certificate of mailing, the certified-mail receipt, the tracking number, or the timestamped email. Most deposit statutes require the statement to be sent within the period, and the landlord bears the burden of showing it did so. An unevidenced assertion that a letter was posted is not evidence that it was.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5
"We had to have the unit professionally cleaned"
high likelihoodA flat "cleaning fee" is deducted whether or not the unit was left dirty.
What answers it
A standing cleaning charge applied to every tenant is not a loss caused by you and is not a permitted deduction. The landlord must show the unit was left less clean than it was at move-in and must produce the invoice for the work actually done. Compare the move-in and move-out condition records; where the landlord did not make a move-in record, it has little with which to prove the difference.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5
The landlord never offered the pre-move-out inspection
high likelihoodThe landlord produces a list of deductions you had no chance to fix before leaving.
What answers it
§ 1950.5(f) obliges the landlord to notify you of your right to request an initial inspection, hold it no earlier than two weeks before the end of the tenancy, give 48 hours' written notice, and give you an itemised statement of proposed deductions so you can cure them. A landlord who skipped that deprived you of the statutory chance to avoid the charge, and it goes directly to whether the retention was in bad faith under § 1950.5(m).
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5
Deductions over USD 125 with no receipts attached
high likelihoodThe itemised statement gives round-number "estimates" and nothing else.
What answers it
Where repairs and cleaning together exceed USD 125, § 1950.5(h) requires copies of the receipts, invoices or bills to accompany the statement, or a reasonable itemisation of the landlord's own labour time and rate. Demand them in writing within 14 days of receiving the statement; a landlord that cannot produce them has not made out its deduction.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5
"You broke the lease, so we keep the deposit"
medium likelihoodThe landlord treats an early departure as forfeiting the deposit outright.
What answers it
A deposit is security for actual loss, not a penalty. Breaking a lease may make you liable for rent until the unit is re-let, but the landlord must mitigate, must itemise what it actually lost, and must still account for the deposit within the statutory period. A blanket forfeiture clause does not survive: deposit statutes are generally non-waivable, so a lease term purporting to let the landlord keep the money regardless is unenforceable.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5
The landlord has no move-out photographs
medium likelihoodThe landlord asserts damage but produces nothing contemporaneous.
What answers it
§ 1950.5(g), added by AB 2801, requires the landlord to take photographs of the unit within a reasonable time after possession is returned and before any repairs or cleaning for which a deduction is made, and — for tenancies beginning on or after 1 July 2025 — at the inception of the tenancy. A landlord with no such photographs is asking a judge to take its word against yours.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 — § 1950.5