Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Landlord/Tenant

My son recently(1 week ago) rented an apartment with a 6 month lease. Part of the lease was a 30 day satisfaction guarentee that he would love the apartment. Only stipulation was to give them a chance to fix problems. He has gone to them twice now about cockroaches and plumbing problems. Both items remain an issue. He is opting out and looking for another place and the management is telling him he has a 6 month lease. They say they want more time to fix the problems. Is my son within his rights to leave?


Asked on 8/28/07, 4:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Robert L. Bennett Law offices of Robert L. Bennett

Re: Landlord/Tenant

It really depends on what is in writing in the lease.

You are dealing with an age old legal problem: written evidence vs. spoken (oral) evidence. They are equally binding, but, obviously, something in writing is substantially easier to prove.

If son's agreement for guaranteed satisfaction is not in the lease, and management, i.e. landlord, comes into court and denies (i.e. lies) about the guaranty existing, the judge will almost always rely on the written lease.

I would say right now you son's best option (assuming nothing in writing regarding the guaranty is in the lease) would be to have an attorney write a demand letter, trying to force the landlord to renegotiate the lease, and/or let you son out of the lease.

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Answered on 8/28/07, 6:57 pm


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