Imagine moving out of your apartment, handing back the keys and then getting a bill for cleaning the carpet. Now imagine the unit had concrete floors. That is one of the charges tenants say they were hit with in a class action against Essex Property Trust, one of California’s largest apartment landlords.
Essex has agreed to pay $19.25 million to settle the case, which was filed in San Diego County by former tenants who say the company illegally kept their security deposits. Essex denies any wrongdoing and says it settled because of the risks, cost and uncertainty of continued litigation.
The state law at the center of the case is California Civil Code section 1950.5, which you can read at the state legislature’s website.
Carpet Cleaning Charged On Concrete Floors
The lawsuit, Norman v. Essex Property Trust, was filed in September 2022 by two former San Diego County tenants, Alexis Norman and Nicolette Cochran. It says Essex billed tenants for repairs, deep cleaning, painting and other services using internal purchase orders. State law, the tenants argue, requires actual invoices from third parties…