Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Landlord refuses to let us out of our Lease
we signed a 1 yr lease with our landlord.They did not ask us to but I didn't want to take any chances for surprises down the road. We now would like to get out of our lease 3 months early. We are trying to buy a house. Our landlord lied on a recent refinance of the house that I live in. Is there anything I can do? Does them lying on their refinancing make our lease null and void?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Landlord refuses to let us out of our Lease
Unless you want to be liable for damages for breach of lease,
you need to be prepared to stay in possession until
the end of the term. Remember that a lease is a 2
way street. Just as you wanted the lease to avoid
"surprises down the road," the lessor wanted to be
assured of an income stream for the term of the
lease. Unless the lessor has somehow breached the
covenants contained in the lease, he has the legal
right to expect you to perform your contract. As to
the issue of the lessor's refinancing, that's a
completely separate transaction with a completely
separate party that had no bearing on the rights
and obligations imposed by the lease between yourselves and the lessor. You've not been harmed by
any misrepresentation the lessor may have made to
his lender. No legal principal I know of
says that you can capitalize on the simple fact
that the Lessor may have done something wrong in
his dealings with other parties.
I'd strongly suggest you attempt to negotiate with
the lessor in good faith. If the lessor refuses to
allow you to move out, then you have to make, in
essence, a "business decision" and decide whether
the damages award you may face for breach of
lease are greater or less than the financial
benefit you receive from purchasing a house now,
as opposed to 3 months down the line.
The information above is provided solely as an
accomodation and does not consitute either the provision
of legal advice on which you may totally
rely, or the creation of an attorney-
client relationship.
I wish you all success in reaching a fair and
speedy resolution with the lessor.
TW Newton
Thomas Newton
Tims & Newton
14401 Sylvan Street, Suite 215