cheated & abused by my landlord ..? Can I redress that in the CA Consumer Court and what are the odds ?

Question by Arnold: cheated & abused by my landlord ..? Can I redress that in the CA Consumer Court and what are the odds ?
I got this jerk of a renter from Craiglist , CA. His room was a lot bigger , with windows looking onto an open space , so I thought this was a chance grab, I immediately paid him a holding fee ( he had to adjust this off my deposit + 1st months , when I moved in ) so I could prepare my move to this new place.
The saga started after this.
<> No keys : I asked him for keys to my room and house keys ..and he gave some shitty excuse why he could not give. So I learnt that the rule of the place was to get in through the back door or else the main door which they’d leave open. There were many such other incidences where essentially he told me off at 1 pt of time that “You maybe older than me , but i am the effective owner of the place ( his credit history is trash. He never did a credit screen . He moves around with those heavy “chained” pants and of course, he is not the owner just a sub leaser ) ”
He never ever cleant the place himself and his gf did it as if she was doing a favor on us. His gf was his sex partner staying with him , perhaps free of charge in return for “kind” .
Ok I tried my best to adjust , to this situation. BUT , seems like he and his gf teamed teamed up a very nasty pair on me. 1 tenant moved out using some excuse, and the only other tenant there , living was staying there with a lot of tolerance and passive attitude – as if a ‘worker’ there.
Things kept going south :
<> His GF got a new pet dog , without even talking to other room-mates and that dog use to squat all over the toilet and in my room too. This happened 3 times in my room and twice in the toilet.I have 1 picture of his potty on the toilet carpet.
<> On some days I worked from home , like 3-4 days a week because my office cubicle was under repair . Apparently the bill for that month was a bit higher . He and his GF confronted me with that bill and asked me to pay like 30-40% higher , even though there is nothing there in the agreement.
<> Then the token money I paid him to hold the room – his GF told me that she would refuse the adjust that off, as that was service for holding the room. This is NOT what I had agreed with him before I moved in. It was NOT mentioned so that the token money to hold the place was a separate cost altogether .
<>Finally enough was enough , I left notes on his door, that their dog has been squatting all over my room. Next day I received a 30 day notice from his GF and a few days later she would NOT let me use the laundry on the pretext that the power bill is too high. I confronted her on this . She retorted very loudly “Get out of this place. Get out of my face ..some more abuse” and then called her BF. BF came charging on my door damaged it very badly with his auto jack and was threatened to hit me .
I was like ..these uncivilized pigs…I wanted to get medieval with that bloke, but I realized he was an idiot. I made a police complaint – a mild one . Cops came and never met him , apparently talked to another roomie and left me a voicemail that they told him to sober down etc.

Now I know I cleaned that room in and out before I left. I have receipts of renting a steam cleaner off Walgreen’s . He has totally $ 700 of my deposit and if I counted all the “extortion” money it would be a lot more.
He refuses to return it back. I wrote 2 letters to him with xeroxes of agreement he signed etc. No reply. Called him – he used some vile language to tell me that I damaged ya da ya .
I TOOK PICTURES WHEN I LEFT AND ALSO HE AND HIS GF WHERE NOT THERE WHEN I LEFT. So I left them a note that there was no one there in the place.
Now at the end of all this – I feel cheated – too badly cheated by this bastard couple. I dont care about the money but its the feeling of being mal-treated and cheated that I want to redress.
I have with me all the paper work to document
<> there is no clause in the agreement that they could arbitrarily charge me increased power bill and that happened. There was no notice served to me that the power bill split will be uneven.
<> nothing to the mention that the holding money is theirs to keep
<> I have pics of their dishes etc lying around dirty , clothes lying outside the door step etc. and the dog pooh in the toilet
<> They did not gimme the key to the room or the house. I think I am missing my Iphone worth $ 600. Though I did not make a police report on that. But there is a sound basis for anything to go missing because he never gave me sufficient things to lock my room
<>The police report I filed.
Now in the State of CA, for that county I looked up the consumer court and found that the max damage liable from the faulting party is $ 7500. I would like to get at least $ 3000+ from him for all grievance he caused me. I never had such an ass***ole renter, who would charge into someones room with a car jack and threaten to beat

Best answer:

Answer by cactusgene
OK, I always wish for the people with a single sentence questions to explain in some detail on what they are asking for. No such wish here. You not only stated the problem, no, you gave your whole life story. I guess that makes up for the others. But please make it somewhat shorter next time.

Now to your problem. Your case is taylor made for a Small Claims Court action, where in fact you can sue for up to $ 7,500. Check with the Court nearest you. You must sue in the same county as the rental property is located. No lawyers are allowed on either side of the case. In many counties they even offer 2-hour FREE classes taught by an attorney on how to prepare your case and they give you good tips and advise for your specific case.

Under California law a landlord or his agent is required to return your security deposit within 21 after you vacate. If any offsets are made against it, they must be itemized and you have the right to see the receipts. If he does not return your money or give you that itemized statement before the 22nd day from the end of the 30-day notice, you can sue for triple damages. If you get that is up to the judge. But I would say go

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