Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
Roommate did not Give Written 30 Days Notice
I have a roommate who announced one day that she will move out of our shared apartment but does not know exactly when. Then one day she moved all her stuff out and said she will be leaving in 1 week. Since she did not give us 30 days written notice, she is obligated to provide for next month's rent. She is saying this is not fair and she gave us 30 days verbal notice. Can we still take her to small claims court?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Roommate did not Give Written 30 Days Notice
I believe that the 30 day notice you are referring to is what the tenant and landlord must give each other on a month to month tenancy. What oral or written agreement do you have with the roommate as to their obligation for paying the rent? I would assume that if they signed the lease on the property that they have to keep on paying their part of the rent until the lease of the property ends and all of you have left.
Unless you have an agreement with her that she can give you 30 days notice and end the contract with you, she is obligated to continue to share the rent. You need to send her a letter stating that and telling her that you will sue her if she breachs her agreement with you.
Having an attorney send her a letter on the attorney's letter head might be more effective but miost attorney's would charge around $300 per hour to do so. I normally charge $100 per hour since I am semi-retired working out of my home and have little overhead.
Whatever you decide to do, you need to act quickly.
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