Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Well, let's see, is it just to sign a contract and then just say "oh, never-mind?" Is it just to make a commitment and then just walk away from it? Notice that you intend to breach a contract does not free you of responsibility for the contract, even if acknowledged by the other party. Unless the other party releases you from the contract, you remain bound by it. Fortunately for you, public policy, and therefore the law, do not support waste, including wasting rental space. So once a landlord has notice that a tenant intends to breach the lease, the landlord's right to enforce the lease depends on the landlord taking all commercially reasonable steps to find a new tenant at or above the rent under the existing lease. If the landlord does that, however, they are under no obligation to terminate the lease. They have every right to keep it in effect and charge you rent until that new tenant is found. If they have multiple vacancies, such as in a large complex, they also are under no obligation to rent your unit before others, since they were supposed to be able to count on your rent, plus any new rent in other units, until your lease was up.