Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

If your lease is more than a month to month and has not expired, your landlord is in violation of the implied covenant of habitability if he does not provide gas service to your unit as required under the lease. If you are on month-to-month, however, he can change the terms of the rental agreement at any time upon 30-days notice. So, although he did not give you formal notice, once you found out it was put in your name, the 30-days started, and you are responsible for the gas after that. You may have to pay the gas back to when he put it in your name to keep your service, but you probably can deduct that from the rent. You should contact a tenants rights organization in your area about how to safely withhold rent withtout setting yourself up to be evicted.