Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
Lease renewal
I re-signed a 12 month Lease on a home Jan 1 2003. The owner didnt want a month to month.
Last weekend the owner served me a 60 day notice becuase he is moving back to California. When I said that we signed a 12 month Lease in Jan, the owner stated that since I had signed it but he,(the owner) hadnt signed it and faxed it back to me, the lease wasnt legal.
Is that true?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Lease renewal
If the lease were for more than one year it must be in writing and signed by the landlord. Civil Code sections 1091, 1624(a)(3) and Code of Civil Procedure section 1971. A lease for a year or less does not have to be in writing to be enforceable. Beckett v. City of Paris Dry Goods 1939) 14 Cal.2d 633.
The question then is when did you orally agree with the landlord on a 12-month lease? If you had the conversation before the start of the 12 months, the lease is not enforceable because it takes effect in the future and expires more than one year after the agreement was made. Wickson v. Monarch Cycle Mfg. Co. (1900) 128 Cal. 156. But if you made the agreement on January 1 to start on January 1, the oral lease is valid.
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