Landlord charges longtime tenants a $10,000 renovation bill for a 1989 California apartment after they move out, using minor damage to make them pay for a full unit upgrade he was planning anyway

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Etai Eshet • Editor
Feb 11, 2026 7:00 PM EST

It doesn't take much to get me worked up when a story involves a greedy landlord, but this Coin-clutching condo king, Security-deposit sommelier member of the Rent-raising royalty, really got me going. Renting in California, or anywhere else for that matter, can be great until your landlord decides your moving-out notice is his renovation proposal.  So this story should have been pretty straightforward if it wasn't for the Ceiling-leak denying, mold monarch of a landlord. And it goes like this:

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  • Landlord charging us $10k to renovate apartment after we moved out.

    Location: California December of last year my wife, roommate and I moved out of our apartment and recently we received an invoice of $10K for repairs and renovations to the apartment.
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  • Me and my room mate had been living there for just over 10 years. Apart from replacing some of the blinds, there had been no work done to the inside of the unit.
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  • We replaced the fridge last year and the washer and dryer a few years back. We had two dogs with us, both required a non- refundable $500 deposit.
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  • Before moving out we had the place professionally cleaned, and the carpets cleaned as well. There was damage caused by us in some locations, mostly the living room wall had a golf ball sized hole in the drywall from the couch, and the removal of a longboard rack and damaged the drywall as well.
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  • Tenants live in a unit for over ten years in an old building from 1989 that has not been touched since it was built. The complex has three other units and all of them have been renovated in the last decade the only one that stayed the same is theirs purely because they refused to be the people who bounced out after three years. They paint the place professionally clean the carpets clean the walls actually invest in new appliances like a fridge washer and dryer and pay a non‑refundable pet deposit for two dogs. When they move out they leave behind a few clear issues a hole in the wall some drywall damage from a removed longboard rack a few missing screens fixtures and normal life scars.  

  • There's other things, like window screens and fixtures that went missing or need to be replaced.
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  • The Maintenance-request minimalist, Clause-quoting crusader landlord then looks at this and decides it is time for a full theater production. The invoice is not a modest list of patches it is a full‑scale rebuild. Repair the wall completely paint every interior surface plus door frames and jambs sand and oil all the cabinets replace every single carpet replace every light fixture every door every faucet every miscellaneous hardware element the stove hood and then haul away the very washer and dryer the tenants themselves bought. All of this under the label of “excessive cleaning costs beyond normal wear and tear.” The unit is clearly due for an update the other three units already got theirs but instead of budgeting that into the building he treats the last holdout as a personal ATM.  

  • What they are charging us for includes: Repair of the wall and complete painting of the interior, all walls and door frames and jambs.
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  • Sand and oil all the cabinets Replacing all the carpet Replacing all the lights, doors, faucets, and misc fixtures Stove hood Haul away of washer and dryer.
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  • The funniest part is that the only constant through the decade is the people living in it. Everything else is just old. The landlord does not want to pay for updating rooms that got rented for two or four years he wants the longest‑staying tenants to foot the bill for the full refresh under the guise of damage.  

  • The reason they give is excessive cleaning costs beyond normal wear and tear. I agree that there are things in the invoice that we are responsible for.
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  • However, I don't believe we are responsible for all of it. The unit is old, everything in there is probably dated back before we moved in, original from when the apartment was built in 1989.
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  • The apartment itself is part of a complex that is two duplexes. The other 3 units have all been renovated in the past 10 years, ours was the only one that wasn't because we lived there way longer than the other tenants that rented the other units.
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  • Most seem to move out in about 2-4 years. It seems to me that these renovations were going to be made regardless and now the landlord is using some of the damages to saddle us with the complete bill.
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  • I was wondering what our options are because I feel like if we push back their response is going to be a lawyer.
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  • Of course they are within their right to push back. They are just the people who stayed too long in a system that never really believed in fairness.

  • sfffer I don't think it's gonna fly, especially in California. Is he refusing to return you your security deposit?
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  • snackynak Original Poster's Reply The 10k is minus the security deposit, the invoice was $11k
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  • sfffer Is that $1k pet deposit $500 for each dog? Or is it on top of it? IANAL In any case, there is no such thing as non refundable deposit in CA, no matter what they call. From you mentioned, those items are normal wear and tear. No carpet is gonna last 10 years, removing old appliances is not your responsibility, etc. Seems like the landlord wants to renovate the property at your expense. They would have to sue you in small claims, I don't see how they would succeeded. Or you can try to sue t
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  • snackynak Original Poster's Reply The original security was $1850. Plus an additional $1000 for the dogs. Which is something I forgot to mention as it seems they didn't. include that additional $1000 toward the repairs.
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  • Asleep-Pin-5664 My non legal advice as a lawyer is just walk away and make them sue you if they even will. If you get in court you're open to a wide range of unpredictability. They also probably need to talk to a lawyer and their lawyer will probably tell them they don't have a case. This is a typical slum lord tactic, but ultimately it's probably not worth your time to fight about. With that being said my understanding is that California is the most pro tenant state in the union so if you want
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  • snackynak Original Poster's Reply This is what I am leaning toward. I really don't want to interact with them if I don't have to.
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  • ArsePucker Im a landlord in Ca. Guy is a fuckin idiot. If he takes that money, just file in small claims. He deserves it. If he hasn't taken it. Sue in small claims for your deposit back. Court will 99% be on your side. He has 21 days from you leaving to give you an itemized breakdown and the remaining deposit back. He can't charge for any of that shit after 10 years. Did he give you written 60 days notice with reasons for eviction? There's another claim if he didn't. You can claim all your movi
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  • snackynak Original Poster's Reply There was no eviction, I got married and bought a house.
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  • grannysmithcrabapple Hey OP, dm'd you with a CA attorney we used before in a bad rental situation.
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  • snackynak Original Poster's Reply Thank you
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  • Expert-Big1682 Did you take photos of the place after the Professional cleaning?
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  • snackynak Original Poster's Reply My roommate was the one who did the walkthrough with the property manger. I'm not sure if they took pictures, I'll have to ask him.
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  • bananahatts When you say you replaced the fridge and washer, do you mean YOU paid for it or landlord paid for it?
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  • snackynak Original Poster's Reply We paid for it. The washer and dryer I'm not sure if the apartment originally had them, or if prior roommates left them. There was kind of a weird “chain subletting” with the apartment. I moved in with my roommate when he had already been living there. He moved in with people who were already there.
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  • No-Candle-8183 They can't charge for paint or carpet after 10 years in CA. They can charge for the hole in the dry wall. Nolo Press has a great book on CA tenants rights. Highly recommend you pick up a copy. It lays out all allowed charges based on time if tenancy and how to recover deposits.
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  • ashpie22 I used to work property management so I have 1st hand knowledge of this area. Landlords are required to send you an itemized deduction invoice or deposit by 21 days after your last day or they forfeit your entire deposit back to you. Regardless of whether you are responsible it's too late for them to come asking you for money because it's past the 21 day deadline. This link to the CA judicial branch has good info and resources to help you get your deposit back. https://selfhelp.courts.c
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  • justanotherbrick512 You need to send a registered letter demanding the return of your security deposit. Carpet and paint not your responsibility. Neither is refinishing cabinets or replacing doors. The one thing you can't do is ignore it or miss court if it goes that far. They're trying to extort you, don't let them.
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