Small Claims Court: A Tenant’s Guide [Updated]
A landlord-tenant legal dispute can arise in a variety of situations, but when it concerns money in an amount that is less $12,500 the tenant can take the landlord to small claims court. Neither the plaintiff nor the landlord can bring an attorney to small claims, so it somewhat levels the playing field compared to superior court where landlords are invariably represented by counsel. Among the most common small claims cases are those that concern a security deposit unlawful withheld. Let’s look at the small claims process and, specifically, at the example concerning the security deposit.
Nobody wants to take a dispute to court. But if it has to go to court and it concerns money in an amount less than $12,500 then small claims is the way to go. Because attorneys do not represent parties to a small claims lawsuit, the landlord will not have the immediate advantage though the landlord may well have been to small claims before on the very same issue.
The statute of limitations on small claims is two years for personal injury (say suing the landlord for a medical expense due to slip-and-fall) but extends to four years when a written contract is implicated. Thus money in a dispute over a lease term like a shared utility charge, if unlawfully billed, is recoverable from the landlord for four years from the improper billing.
Some suggested steps to consider when proceeding with a small claims case.
Step 1: Know the Law
Understand the relevant state law and local ordinance (if applicable) before filing the case. State law is specific about when the landlord may bill a tenant directly for a shared utility, one that is not in the tenant’s name. To pass-through that cost the landlord must have notified the tenant that the utility was shared; divide the bill on a rational basis; and provide the bill to the tenant in order to collect.
Likewise, the law is quite specific about lawful deductions from security deposits, the time to return the balance (21 days), and the documentation that is required to substantiate those deductions. Know the law!
Step 2: Prepare the Case
Getting prepared for trial means gathering the evidence that will make the case to the judge (there is no jury trial in small claims). Prepare a timeline of relevant events and communications, such as all instances of contact with the landlord about the issue. This is what attorneys do, of course, but in small claims it is up to the plaintiff herself. The court provides a useful checklist to prepare for trial.
The more coherent the claim against the landlord, the better able the judge will be to find in favor of the tenant. The court will not look kindly on a claim which is disorganized or unsubstantiated. Channel your inner TV lawyer but without the theatrics!
Step #3: File the Case with the Court
File the claim at the courthouse using form SC–100 or file electronically. The filing fee is modest ($30 or $50 usually) and there are fee waiver provisions too. A tenant who prevails will recover that fee (and maybe penalties). The filing starts the clock: there will be a hearing date scheduled (20 to 70 days after filing). More information here.
Step #4: Serve the Landlord
After filing the case with the court it is time to serve the landlord the court papers. This must happen 15 or more days before the hearing if the defendant is in-county (20 days out-of-county). A private process server can render ‘personal service.’ It can be professional process server or any adult. Alternately the papers can be left at the defendant’s home or place of business. This is ‘substituted service’ and also requires that the defendant be served via certified mail (for proof of mailing). The courts provide a useful very detailed guide.
Properly name the defendant. A case will fail if the defendant is not accurately named. If you have difficulty finding a landlord’s address for service then call the City of Beverly Hills Business Office at (310) 285–2427 to see if there is a street address associated with the landlord. There is also the county tax assessor (surely the tax bill goes somewhere!). Renters Alliance may also be able to help by looking though online permit records and the state entity registratins to identify a beneficial owner or at least a designated recipient for the purposes of service.
Step #5: Present the Claim to the Judge
Small Claims cases are heard at the Santa Monica Courthouse at 1725 Main St. (Room 210A) in Santa Monica on Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m. and 1:30–4:30 p.m. and Friday mornings only. Be there before the beginning of the session in case your claim is called out of order.
Present a clear case narrative. Be succinct, ground it in the relevant provisions of law or ordinance, and link it to the case timeline. Reference communication with the landlord and bring the lease (mark the relevant clauses, if any). In stating the claim, the tenant should think like an attorney: persuade the judge to view it from the tenant’s perspective.
- As the court’s website reminds us, “The judge’s decision will be made based on the law, the evidence and common sense.” You should:
- Be truthful and present the facts.
- Be objective and control your feelings.
- Be respectful of the judge and the other party.
- Only speak to the judge, not the other party.
- Never depart from the facts of the case into anecdotes or speculation.
Here the timeline is key! Don’t get caught out by a competing claim from the landlord on a date or the order of events. Make sure your dates and facts are in alignment.
Resources are available!
Small claims is the original people’s court. So Los Angeles Superior Court provides DIY information starting with the filing of the case to the collection of damages upon prevailing. Find these at the court’s small claims portal. The court also provides an essential online guide, Small Claims Court A Guide to Its Practical Use, that will come in handy.
For an overview of the process, consult the court’s useful explainer of the small claims process and watch the court’s self-help Introduction to Small Claims video.
Consult this additional material about the small claims process:
- Small claims pocket guide – Legal Aid
- Collecting a Small Claims Judgment – Legal Aid
- Tenants’ Small Claims Workshop video webinar (2024) – Legal Aid Foundation
- Nolo online guides: California Small Claims Court: An Overview and Small Claims Court FAQ
Example: Landlord Fails to Return the Security Deposit
The most common reason a tenant turns to small claims court is because the landlord stole the deposit. Whether it be unlawful deduction(s) from the security deposit or withholding the deposit entirely, pocketing that money is straight-up theft. Unfortunately the law does not recognize it as a criminal offense. A tenant’s remedy is civil: sue the landlord in small claims court for the money plus damages for bad-faith dealing.
Court is the last option. We encourage tenants to take whatever steps they can take in order to protect against this theft in the first place. Read more in our explainer: Security Deposits: Ten Steps to a Timely Refund. If it goes to court follow these steps. More detail is found in the essential Return of Security Deposit in Small Claims Court – Legal Aid Self-Help Guide 2022.
Step 1: Know the law. To sue in small claims court requires that you first made a formal demand for the money owed. You can send the landlord a demand letter on the 22nd day after the end of the tenancy. Don’t wait! Use the sample demand letter from the Legal Aid Foundation as a guide. Or go by the demand letter guidance offered by the essential Nolo Press. Or use the LA Court’s demand letter composition tool.
Send the demand letter by email AND certified mail. Give it two weeks or perhaps a week after any date specified in the demand letter to return the money. Additionally review Civil Code §1950.5 to understand what constitutes a lawful reasons to deduct from the security deposit.
Step 2: Prepare the case. Gather evidence like the lease, correspondence related to the security deposit, and that necessary demand letter. If you have receipts for work you performed to remedy damage as identified during the initial inspection, prior to move-out, then include that. Collect and print any images that show the condition of the apartment at move-in and move-out. (You did take pictures, right?). Annotate the images with the date that they were taken. Finally, organize the narrative: create a timeline; append the documentary evidence using attachment numbers; create a table of contents. You want to tell the story of this theft clearly and succinctly. Do not make the judge do additional work to understand the basis of your claim! Serve it up on a silver platter.
Witnesses can provide essential evidence to support the case especially where it concerns withholding the security deposit as a pattern-and-practice of the landlord. Do you know former tenants who also were cheated or had their deposit withheld entirely? For example we have heard from several tenants of landlord Benny Pirian who want to organize a class action. The testimony of tenant-victims can help persuade a small claims court judge establish a bad-faith pattern of conduct. For more about witness statements consult Nolo Press’s post: Offering Witness Testimony in Small Claims Court.
Step 3: File the case with the court. Complete and file the small claims
SC-100 Plaintiff`s Claim and FW-001 Fee waiver. (Read more about the applicable fee waiver.) That can be done electronically or at the courthouse. As of 2024, according to the online court locator, the Beverly Hills Courthouse at 9355 Burton Way hears small claims for Beverly Hills tenants. Reach the courthouse at (310) 281-2400.
Step 4: Serve the landlord with court papers. Service must be by an adult not in the household and done at least 15 days before the hearing. Because some landlords evade service we recommend serving the landlord as soon as possible.
How to identify the landlord? First the check the lease or any subsequent notice of change of ownership. That should identify the landlord. Now, the landlord may be an individual, which may be organized as a partnership or trust; a limited liability company (LLC); or a corporation. In the past, when landlords were less sophisticated, owners were individual. Sometimes they lived at their property or did business locally. Today ownership is more likely to be held through a limited liability company or, less commonly, a corporation.
You need to find the beneficial owner or responsible official who can be served with papers. If it is an individual, the address may be a place of business or where they accept rent. Sometimes we can find the landlord’s residential address using city permits that were issued to the rental property. Also search for the rental property address in the city’s business license search tool which may identify the landlord and show an address.
For LLCs and corporate landlords, search the Secretary of State’s database by entity name. Then click through to the filed papers such as statements of information. These filings show the beneficial owners and agents designated for the process service. You are looking here for individuals who are LLC’s managers, corporate officers and/or agents.
If you have successfully served the landlord then file the proof of service on form SC-104 with the court at least 5 days before hearing.
Step 5: Present your case in court.. Bring three copies of the evidence and be prepared to exchange your evidence with the defendant as directed by the judge. State to the judge the fact that the security deposit wasn’t returned within 21 days pursuant to Civil Code 1950.5. Then using your demand letter, plus additional written correspondence, make the case that the landlord has acted in bad faith. That’s why you are demanding the return of the entire security deposit plus damages pursuant to section 1950.5.
Read the Nolo Press post about presenting your evidence: Presenting Your Testimony and Evidence in Small Claims Court.
Judgement
The judge may decide in favor of the defendant, the plaintiff or perhaps split the baby by ordering the landlord to return some of the money he stole. The judge may rule at the hearing or later by returning a ‘notice of entry of judgment’ via the mail. Let’s look at those possible outcomes:
- The judge decides for the landlord. The tenant will forfeit the money that the landlord has withheld. That decision is final because the tenant’s claim did not succeed. It can’t be appealed or re-filed.
- The judge decides for the tenant. Here the landlord is ordered to return the deposit. However the landlord can appeal: small claims allows only the defendant to appeal a judgment. The case then would go to a different judge for a new hearing. At this hearing each party may be represented by an attorney.
- The judge ‘splits the baby’ and awards partial damages to the plaintiff. Here the plaintiff’s claim has succeeded. Nither party can appeal a partial damages judgement.
Read more about appeals in the court’s online guide section titled, Your Day in CourtIs there a way to change the Judgment?
The small claims court decision becomes final after the 30-day appeal window closes and after a Notice of Entry of Judgment is issued. Upon expiration of that 30-day window, the prevailing party (‘judgment creditor’) can collect. The prevailing party can ask for court costs including the filing fee, the process service fee and costs for subpoenas and witnesses. Recovery for fees is decided at the time of trial so bring proof of those costs with you!
Collecting
Collecting on the judgement can be a challenge. While many landlords will honor the court’s decision, the more unscrupulous landlords won’t. Read more about those challenges in the Nolo Press post, Can You Collect Your Money If You Win?
In the latter case, a determined tenant could put a lien on the landlord’s property or request the court to put a levy on the landlord’s commercial bank account. These can be effective strategies however it takes some detective work. “When it comes to collecting the amount owed in a money judgment, you’re on your own,” says Nolo Press. Read the informative post about how to go after the landlord: Can You Collect Your Judgment?
We recommend consulting Legal Aid Foundation’s Collecting a Small Claims Judgment for next steps if the landlord does not honor the judgement.
Mediation is Available
You could also invite the landlord to mediate the dispute. City of Beverly Hills contracts with Loyola Marymount University for the service. The downside of mediation is that the landlord may not volunteer to participate; the mediator may encourage a split-the-baby solution that leaves money unlawfully in the landlord’s pocket; and the tenant would forgo additional damages to which a tenant may be entitled when the landlord shows bad faith.
On the upside, your attempt to mediate the dispute, when documented with evidence before the court, could be useful to show that you made every attempt to work with the landlord prior to filing the case. “Why are we here today?” is the question to ask of the judge when the landlord declined to participate or didn’t even respond to an invitation to mediate.
Contact rent stabilization division at (310) 285–1031 for more information about city-sponsored mediation. Candidly we think it is bullshit, but it could provide some evidence to show the landlord’s bad faith.
Find Legal Assistance with Your Case
Free help for Small Claims Court litigants is available downtown from the Los Angeles County Small Claims Advisor Service at 500 W. Temple St. Room B–96. Reach them by phone: (213) 974–9759 M-F 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Some legal aid programs will also help with small claims cases. City of Beverly Hills contracts with Bet Tzedek Legal Services. Walk-in to the Bet Tzedek Roxbury Park community center clinic without an appointment every other Monday from 10 a.m.-noon.
The do-it-yourselfer should Nolo Press’s Everybody’s Guide to Small Claims Court in California. Find a reference copy of the 2021 edition at the Beverly Hills Public Library at call number ‘347.794 Everybody’s.’
Self-Help Legal Access Center (SHLAC) at the Santa Monica Courthouse (1725 Main St. room 210A) program provides forms, information about court procedures, and help with reviewing court forms prior to submission. The center is open M-Th 8:30am–12pm and 1:30–4:30pm. On Friday mornings it is upen until noon. SHLAC is funded by the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs.
Additional Resources
- Return of Security Deposit in Small Claims Court – Legal Aid Self-Help Guide 2022 — Legal Aid Foundation
- Security Deposit Small Claims Workshop video webinar — Legal Aid Foundation
- Return of Security Deposit sample demand letter — Legal Aid Foundation
- Demand letter guidance — Nolo Press
- Presenting Your Testimony and Evidence in Small Claims Court — Nolo Press
- Offering Witness Testimony in Small Claims Court — Nolo Press
- Collecting a Small Claims Judgment — Legal Aid Foundation
- Can You Collect Your Money If You Win? — Nolo Press
- Can You Collect Your Judgment? — Nolo Press
- Superior Court Small Claims Legal Advisor (help by phone at no cost)