Tenant stunned by bill for carpet cleaning in an apartment with concrete floors. Now her landlord is paying $19.25 million

Move-out charges are notoriously brutal, but the itemized bill one downtown San Diego tenant opened included a charge that immediately stood out. There was the usual laundry list of minor deductions, capped off with a steep fee. The only problem? The entire apartment was floored with polished concrete. However, the charge was one of several examples cited in litigation against Essex Property Trust at the Form 15 complex wasn't an isolated blunder. Instead, it helped anchor a massive class-action lawsuit against Essex Property Trust, one of California’s largest corporate landlords, which has now agreed to pay $19.25 million to resolve claims. The Times of San Diego reported this on October 20, 2026.

Phantom fees and inflated bills

The dispute began when outgoing renters noticed stark discrepancies between their final itemized deduction notices and real expenses. In one instance cited in court, a tenant in San Fernando was billed nearly $2,000 for carpet replacement. Later, they discovered through the contractor's direct invoice that the job had actually cost just $907. In other cases, landlords charged residents for work that never took place. Like when a Form 15 resident reached out to challenge a $550 paint deduction, company representatives admitted they had no documents of the work.

Tenants mount legal resistance

Frustrated by these unexplained move-out costs, renters Alexis Norman and Nicolette Cochran filed a formal class-action lawsuit against the San Mateo-based landlord in September 2022. San Diego attorney Jimmie Davis Parker of Robinson & Parker took on the case, representing a growing coalition of former residents. "This agreement would return money and provide debt relief to more than 200,000 former Essex Property Trust tenants," said Parker, emphasizing the sheer hurdles the people face when fighting corporate landlords alone.

The multi-million-dollar agreement

After years of litigation, Essex agreed to resolve the case through a comprehensive $19.25 million settlement fund in October 2026. Beyond direct cash payouts to eligible former renters who submit claims, the agreement also cancels approximately $8.7 million in unpaid move-out debts and collection balances. The resolution covers more than 200,000 past tenants across California properties, offering relief to renters who had faced damaged credit scores or aggressive collection efforts over disputed deposit balances.

Refunds and move-out conflicts

This case sheds light on a broader renting issue prevalent throughout the United States. According to a Zillow poll, the average security deposit sat at roughly $750. Among recent renters who had moved from a previous rental, 40% reported receiving their entire deposit back. Meanwhile, 18% got most of it back, with 9% confirming they got some of it back. However, a staggering 24% of renters claimed that they got absolutely none of their security deposit back at the time of moving out. The figures show how common partial or withheld deposit returns are among recent renters.

Essex denies wrongdoing

Despite agreeing to the substantial financial payout, the landlord maintained that its practices were lawful. "Essex denies any wrongdoing but recognizes the risks, expense, and uncertainty of continued litigation," an attorney for the firm said. Alongside the financial restitution, the terms require the property giant to provide outgoing tenants with copies of actual vendor receipts, pass along contractor turnover discounts, and implement internal training on California deposit statutes.

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