Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Breaking A Lease Agreement
Is there anyway that I can break a lease agreement as one of the two tenants? There are two of us here on the lease and the other tenant wants to stay and I want to leave. Is there anything that I can do in this situation?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Breaking A Lease Agreement
Breaking a lease means breaching a contract. When there are two tenants on a lease, the landlord can go after either or both, at his option. So, if the remaining tenant didn't pay the full amount due, you could be sued or reported to credit bureaus or both, by the landlord.
You also have a contractual obligation of a less formal nature, but still enforceable, with your co-tenant, to pay your share of the rent. If you cut out, sticking the co-tenant with the full rent, he or she could also sue you for your share, whether or not you live there.
Both the landlord and the co-tenant can only sue you for damages they are unable to recoup through making reasonable efforts to find someone to take your place. How all of this would play out in real life depends upon what the co-tenant decides to do.
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