Got a tenant deposit dispute in San Jose last month over a $350 carpet charge

I was standing in small claims court explaining why normal wear and tear isn't the same as a pet stain, and the judge sided with the tenant because I didn't take photos on move-in day, so now I always do a walkthrough video with the tenant present, has anyone else been burned by a missing move-in checklist?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.ruby24d ago

Yeah, been there. Learned the hard way that phones are for pictures, not assumptions.

shanem3724d ago

Pretty sure my phone has more photos of blurry carpet than actual memories at this point.

-2

sean_torres7124d ago

Wait, no photos at all on move-in day? That's wild, man. How do you expect to prove anything without proof? I took a blurry picture of a cracked tile once and it still saved me $200. You basically walked into court holding nothing but your word against a tenant who probably had their own pictures. That judge had no choice but to side with them.