Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Lease agreement

Send a certified return-receipt letter to the landlord (or attorney) disputing the extra charges, and explain why. Keep a copy. If you're ever sued, at least you will have a record that you attempted to resolve this matter.

Re: Lease agreement

You are actually liable for a bit more than just the rent while empty. The landlord's damages for breach of the lease is the rent he does not collect between the time you surrender the premises to the time his new tenant begins paying rent. He may have had to offer one-month's free rent to get a tenant in quickly - the rental market is soft right now. You are also liable for the expenses the landlord incurred to re-let the property. Many times, rental companies charge a full months rent (or more) to find a new tenant. That is a reasonable cost of reletting the place, though it should be prorated if the new tenant signed a one year lease. Finally, the landlord can recover whatever the difference in rent might be from what you were paying and what his new tenant is paying, through the end of your lease term. If the new tenant is paying $100 per month less than you were (again, soft rental market), then you would owe them $400 for these damages. Send a certified letter demanding an accounting of what they are charging you.

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