Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Is a Lease Legally Binding if it Does Not Contain the ''Registered Sex Offenders

I need to break my apartment least two months early due to financial and work-related reasons. When reading about renter's and landord's rights at the Department of Consumer Affairs, (http://www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook/when-rent.htm), I saw a statement that said:

''Since July 1, 1999, every lease or rental agreement must contain a written notice to the tenant that there is a statewide database with the locations of registered sex offenders, and that the California Department of Justice maintains a Sex Offender Identification Hotline. This notice must be in legally-required language.''

My lease does *not* contain that statement or any reference of this notice. Since it doesn't, is my lease legally binding?


Asked on 3/05/02, 8:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Victor Hobbs Victor E. Hobbs

Re: Is a Lease Legally Binding if it Does Not Contain the ''Registered Sex Offen

Normally the word 'must' means it has to be there. If you must break your lease (unavoidable circumstances have occured) then the statement on the sexual offenders statement is as good a defense as any other. However, since a lot of judges are not as well informed as you are. And since you appear to be single, and may not be in the class of people that the legislature intended to protect, you might just inform the landlord that you must move, and assist the landlord in re-leasing the unit. To properly present the 'legislative intention' of the statute you may want to go to the local law library and review the various cases that hopefully explain the statute and legislature's (commission's) notes directly under the statute itself.

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Answered on 3/06/02, 11:22 am


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