Can landlord charge you for cooking smell in apartment from your security deposit?

Question

I have moved to my new apartment and my previous landlord is charging me for the cooking smell in the apartment and saying that they need to paint the whole apartment but it was new renovated apartment and they said that paint life is three year and we were their for 1year 6month and we are vegitarian (means no egg and no meat). According to California law do i have any right to argue with them for paint charges or regarding cooking smell charges. Can i sue them for this.

Answer 1

If the law says you can, then do!

Answer 2

First of all do you have any contract of lease? I supposed you do. Let see, in what I understand if you are renting a place and you have a contract of lease all terms and condition are stated there so other than terms and condition stated in the COL is out of the question. Apartment is subject for normal wear and tear, of course if you cook inside the apartment the smell from the food you cook will definitely be all over the place. Normally security deposit is intended to assure that if on the time that the tenant vacate the place and was not able to pay bills like utility or they have unpaid monthly rent. Yes I think you can bring the matter into legal and have your dispute resolve under the law. But be sure it worth your time, effort and money to sue the landlord.

Answer 3

Here is what I found. Cooking comes under normal use. They cannot do this. I would fight it. The law is on your side here. Read the info on the citation below.

"Within 21 days after you leave the unit, the landlord must refund your full deposit, except for limited deductions which must be itemized in a accompanying notice. The landlord may only deduct from your security deposit the amounts that are reasonably necessary to clean the premises for the next tenant, repair damages that you caused beyond normal wear and tear, and pay any rent you owed but did not pay. Painting the unit is not a legitimate deduction, unless inherent in repairs of damage you caused, such as replacing the walls. The list must itemize each amount, time spent, hourly rate, the name and contact information of the person who did the work, and what was done, and be accompanied by receipts."

Answer 4

Unfortunately not, and he is within his right to do so.

Smells, regardless of source, if they are caused by you and something you did while living there, it is a recoverable expense.

I listed a house where people had lived for years from India. Even after the furniture was cleared out, and the carpets cleaned, the entire house smelled like curry. I listed it for awhile, but the odor turned everyone away.

Thank God, the sellers understood, and were open to fix it. The entire house was repainted, carpet replaced, air filters changed. The smell was gone and it was under contract in two weeks.

Answer 5

Sorry to inform you of the sad facts of life, but they CAN charge you to rid the premises of offensive odors caused by your cooking styles. I have a similar problem with tenants from Pacific Rim nations. I have no problems with what they eat, but the ingredients and cooking methods leave an objectionable odor in the rental unit.

I charge them for whatever is needed to remove those odors. I COULD have the walls washed down, but repainting is actually less costly.

You can't sue THEM, but they can sue YOU to collect costs for odor remediation.

Answer 6

They can not charge you for painting. If you where living there for over one year it is called normal wear and tear. Did they send you this notice within 21 days?
If not they need to send your entire deposit back. They can however charge you for cleaning. If the apartment was not clean.
Yes you can sue them for the deposit but you may not need to. Just send them a letter and request your entire deposit to be returned. If they still refuse then take them to small claims court.

Answer 7

If the smell is excessive enough that it didn't stop when cleaned then yes, they can charge you for fixing the problem. Would you rent a place that stunk like old food?

Answer 8

If it smells then you have a build up of some kind.. maybe grease... if it smells they can charge you... means its dirty

Answer 9

my super short answer... yes they can charge you for cleaning.. but the landlord totally over charged you!!!! the landlord should have used an ozone generator.. DUH...... everybody knows this....... i would say you have a claim against the landlord for performing the wrong kind of repair...