Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: 2 persons on a lease

I assume you mean end the lease and not break it. If you are going to break the lease you simply do not perform your obligations as a tenant [paying rent, etc.]. To get out early from the lease, you have to work out a deal with the landlord, convincing him that he does not lose any money by agreeing to let you go. The landlord will say that he now has two people agreeing to pay rent but if he lets you out of the contract sooner that its terms he is in a less secure position so you have to compensate him for that risk.