Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Landlord harassment

Our landlords orally agreed to let us out of our 12mo lease early. After this conversation I handed the owners a letter stating our 30 day notice so that the terms of our agreement to break the lease was in writing. The next day the owners came over to the property to express their unhappiness for our request of the deposit back in the letter (as this was not discussed in our oral agreement). We did not resolve the deposit issue and agreed to discuss this further at a future date. That date came and passed and we heard nothing from the owners. So we assumed that the agreement to end the lease was valid and the question of the deposit was the only concern. When we tried to return the property to the landlords they stated they never agreed to let us out of our lease and demanded we pay them for the remaining months or stay in the property for the full term. In the last four days since the attempt to return property to the owners they have come over to our new property unannounced banging on our door several times a day. We have retained the keys to the property as they have not let us out of our lease and we our unsure of what our legal rights are in this situation and if it would benefit us from continuing to hold onto he keys.


Asked on 12/07/06, 2:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Judith Deming Deming & Associates

Re: Landlord harassment

You have done everything wrong. First, the landlord does NOT have to let you out of the lease early, so if they were agreeable, you should have been thankful for that. To provide them with a writing that says you get your security deposit back, and expect them to sign that in advance of your leaving was a mistake. The landlord did not sign anything in any event, and an agreement such as this would need to be signed by ALL parties in order to be valid. Now, the only document which has relevance is the lease, and you owe for the balance; moreover, when the keys are not returned to a landlord, then the tenant still has legal possession. The landlord has every right to sue you for the remainder of the term, if they cannot rent to someone else.

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Answered on 12/07/06, 8:51 pm


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