Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: 30 days notice to roommate

The landlord won't go after your friend because your friend isn't on the lease. The landlord will only go after those on the lease. If there is only one months payment owed, and that's all, the landlord will either sue in small claims or forget about it.

You, on the other hand, assuming you are on the lease, can sue your friend in small claims court for the money your friend agreed to pay.

Re: 30 days notice to roommate

This is why landlords get security deposits. When you and your mother became landlords, you probably neglected to get a security deposit from your friend, the subtenant. That being the case, you are probably stuck with suing in small claims or losing whetever rent you expected from the friend for the last month.

The whole subtenant thing has no effect on your relationship with the landlord. You still owe him the regular rent, right through the last day of your tenancy. If you don't pay, the landlord will look to you, as tenants, not the subtenant, against whom he has no claim. The landlord will probably deduct the last month's rent from your security deposit, but that is certainly not his only remedy. He can sue whichever of you signed the lease, and if you both signed, he could sue either of you, or both of you.

If you have been good tenants, the place doesn't have damage or need repairs, and the security deposit is adequate, that will probably be the end of the story, however.