Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Based on the zip code and the similarity in the question, you appear to be the same person I have been answering a private question for. If so, you need to realize that providing so little information in this question, compared to the full information you provided in the private question, will get you an incorrect answer for your situation.

The answer to this question would generally be that you must, under California law, attempt to find a new occupant as quickly as is reasonable for any average landlord. You can only keep the deposit up to the amount of lost rent between when she moved out and when the new tenant starts paying rent. If that amount adds up to the full amount of the deposit, you can keep it all.

None of that applies however, if you enter into an early termination agreement, or if the tenant moves out due to certain types of breach by the landlord. Unless an early termination agreement provides for the landlord to receive a buy-out payment AND keep the deposit, the deposit must be refunded. Likewise, if the early termination is legally justified, the landlord's right to any rents ends and the deposit must be refunded.