About 30 days ago I moved out of my apartment. I broke my lease, but my landlord told me it was fine as long as I found a new tenant to take my place. I found one and she started paying rent the day I left. In fact, the landlord got two weeks extra rent because I left in the middle of the month, but paid for the whole month.

Now he is refusing to return my security deposit on the grounds that I broke my lease. He never did a walk through or sent me anything regarding damages, etc. Do I have a right to my security deposit? And if so, how can I get it from him? I live in Oakland, California.

File a lawsuit immediately. The landlord can't keep your security deposit if he is receiving rent from a new tenant. If the court decides in your favor you may be entitled to twice the amount that was wrongfully withheld.

Check out Landlord/Tenant Book Index - California Department of Consumer Affairs (http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/index.shtml)