Pro tip: a verbal lease in California is not as safe as folks assume
Back in 2019 I rented a house in Fresno on just a handshake and verbal deal with the owner, no paper at all. When he kept my $1,400 deposit two years later, I found out the hard way that a verbal lease over one year has to be in writing to hold up under the statute of frauds. My old landlord counted on me not knowing that, and the small claims judge agreed with him. People mix up month to month handshake deals with long term ones all the time. Has anyone here dealt with a verbal rental deal that went sideways?