Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

"Forfeiture" of the lease is not what it appears you believe it to be. It is a legal term of art, and simply allows the Court to declare that the tenant has no remaining right of occupancy after the notice has expired, and is a tenant at sufferance. The terms of the lease are still entirely enforceable from the landlord's perspective - claims for unpaid rent, damage to the rental, and prospective damages (limited) are still available regardless of a forfeiture.

The prospective (future) damages are limited. The landlord cannot leave the apartment empty for the remaining term of the lease, and rely upon collecting that from the tenant. The landlord must make all reasonable efforts, after receiving possession of the property again, to re-let the property. The landlord's damages for breach of a lease would include daily rental value damages until the property is again re-let, cost of re-letting the property (rental fees, advertising, etc...) and any difference in rent from what the original tenant was paying and the new tenant is paying, if the landlord is required to take less rent to get the unit rented. Forfeiture does not excuse either party from performing under the lease - has nothing to do with the financial obligations between the landlord and tenant. The landlord can seek these damages from the tenant either in the unlawful detainer lawsuit used to evict the tenant, or can file a separate lawsuit for money damages.

Finally, I don't see any facts that would create liability on the part of the tenant from what are called "treble damages," but the facts you provided are far too limited to give you a formal opinion about what might happen in this case.

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