Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

The law is somewhat backward from what you appear to think about this. You actually owe her nothing for hotel, food and storage. What you DO owe her is rent abatement. So she is correct that she is owed proration from June 24 to June 30 and does not owe further rent until she can move back in, at which time she owes prorated rent from that date to the end of the month. But since she is NOT owed what you have been paying for, the two of you need to figure out how that adds up. My guess is that the hotel, food, and storage cost more per day than the daily rent, and in good faith you may want to continue paying that with her still owing you rent, but the law says you should stop paying her expenses and just cancel her rent until the property is ready for her to return. With all that said, however, you also need to check your lease or rental agreement and make sure it doesn't say anything different. This is one area where the landlord and tenant can make an agreement that is different from the law. The law is just the default if there are no specific terms in the agreement.