Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Illegal Rental Litigation

Here are the facts:

1) P is suing D (ME) for failure to pay rent for a sublease for the month of July, 2003.

2) But I believe that I have no such obligation:

i) There was a non-binding option in our sublease agreement which gave me the opportunity - but not an obligation - to stay on for the month of July if I so desired at a higher rental rate.

ii) P asked the property owner (PO) to take him off the lease for July, in the event that I wanted to stay on. PO asked me to fill out a credit check and make a deposit, but I never did so because PO would not lower the rent from 2045 to 1800, which I thought would be fair.

iii) I moved out at the end of June, and advised P (via phone) and PO (via email) of this. A week or two later, PO requested that P pay for July's rent.

iv) P sent emails - which he CCed to me - to PO indicating that he was not legally responsible for July's rent, as a) sublessors had vacated and b) P has himself made clear his intention to terminate the rental agreement between himself and PO.

3) What is your advice? I assume that on these facts there's no case.


Asked on 8/24/03, 10:52 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Wayne Wisong Wayne Wisong, Attorney at Law

Re: Illegal Rental Litigation

Fax your rental agreement to 1-413-403-5408. I mean the agreement with the landlord. It sounds like you are a subtenant of a tenant. If you moved out by the end of the agreed sublease termination date, you have no obligation to your sublessor. It sounds like your primary subtenant/landlord is trying to get away with telling your landlord he is not liable for your part of the July rent. That is not how it works. He is always liable for the full rent to the landlord no matter what is agreed between you and him. If your former tenant/sublessor thinks you owe him, his only recourse is against you. He still has to pay the landlord the full rent if he is still there.

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Answered on 8/24/03, 1:43 pm


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