We rented a house for 3+ years in Orange County, CA, signing a new lease each March. In late May, we called the landlord and asked if we could advertise to rent the house because we wanted to purchase a house out of state. We have 2 months as a security deposit and wanted to mitigate our potential losses because honestly, we didn't trust him to try to rent it if we left. He said fine.

We were inundated with calls, showed the house dozens of times, faxed over applications to him for 3 potential tenants (he turned them down) and on the last day there, showed it to a couple who eventually rented it (we had to call the landlord this month to find out) and moved in. I paid for ads in the Register and managed the Craigslist ad.

The landlord wanted a written notice when he realized we were serious - I sent him a 30 day notice on June 11. We vacated on June 28 (house was spotless and he did a walk through and signed/dated it).

When I called mid July, the landlord told me that he rented it to the couple I showed the house to, but that they weren't moving in until July 20, and I would be off the hook then. In the meantime, he has been in the house since we left doing some updating and painting.

Last week we called to have the utilities cancelled and were told that they had already been changed to the new tenants (before July 14). My daughter drove by the house on July 17 and said they had moved in.

Just now, on July 21, I get an email from the landlord saying that my lease has now ended and in a couple of weeks he will mail me a refund.

Should we still have to wait longer? Is our 21 days from the date we left (June 27), the day of our 30 day notice (July 11), the day the tenants move in (???), the day he decides?

If he has been working in the house, are those days expected to be deducted from our deposit?

If he let the tenants move in early for free because he knew he could deduct from our deposit, is that allowed?

Thanks -