Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: rental agreements

The law imposes on an lease of a home that a certain degree of comfort and enjoyment must exist, but what meets and does not meet such a vague requirement is not a cleraly bright line. What was the man doing in their backyard? Is the yard shared with any other tenants? Was he committing any crimes, would the average tenant be afraid of what happened? How close physically to there unit was the break-in? We need much more information, but that still will make it guess work as too whether that is enough to void the lease. How close are they to the end of the lease period and can they find someone who would take over the lease? Has the landlord been informed on what has happened?

Re: rental agreements

It really depends on whether you, as landlord, are responsible for the unfortunate events, and whether those events are sufficient to constitute a constructive eviction or breach of some implied lease warranty. For example, landlords have been held liable for failing to provide adequate security safeguards in some situations.