Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
I talked to my land lord and she said I could only break my year long lease if I could find someone else to take over. She also said my roommate has to approve of the person. I have found 5 people extremely interested in taking over the lease. But my roommate disapproved of all of them for no legitimate reasons. Her various reasons would be: she 3 years older than me, she's just a nurse, she's not a grad student, okay she's a grad student but she's not a law student like me. I finally found someone that my roommate liked. She was extremely nice, stable job, and good references. A day before she was supposed to start moving in, my roommate told me her intuition told her it was a bad idea.The land lord now wouldn�t let the girl sign the lease. I�m getting extremely frustrated that not only has the land lord made no effort to find someone, she�s rejected perfectly good candidates just because my roommate didn�t approve. I think the real reason my roommate is disapproving of everyone is because she's quite enjoying the 2 bedroom apartment all to herself. ive already moved out and she turned my room into an office a day after i left. she's also been letting her friend crash in the room for 2 weeks. Can land lord keep rejecting everyone from signing the lease because my roommate disapproves and make me pay? i feel like ive made more then a reasonable effort to find someone and that i've done enough to break the lease, but im not sure if im legally allowed to
2 Answers from Attorneys
You are in a bit of a pickle, but I agree with your analysis of the situation. Tell your roommate that you will no longer look for qualified candidates. Quit paying the rent. Your roommate will quickly see that it's not a good idea to reject any more candidates. Yes, you run the risk of having an eviction on your record if your roommate moves out instead of paying rent, but if your roommate doesn't want to lose the apartment, she will probably come up with the rent.
A landlord cannot sue for unpaid rent when a qualified new tenant is available. Likewise, your law student former room mate needs to learn a thing or to with tortious interference with economic advantage, among other things. I agree. Stop paying rent and defend if necessary on the basis of wrongful refusal of the landlord to re-let the premises, and cross-complain against your ex roomate for indemnity.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
