Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Lease

Your lease with the landlord is not affected by either the new Act, nor your issues with your residence. If you signed a 12 month lease, why is it fair to the landlord (who wasn't a party to the sale of your home, your Countrywide Mortgage nor the new law put in place) that you should be able to just walk away from that obligation? Its not, and so the answer is you cannot just terminate your 12 month lease. That being said, the landlord, once you notify him of your intent to move, has an obligation to mitigate his damages. In other words, he can't just let the house you were renting sit fallow for four more months and collect rent from you. He has to attempt to relet the property, and you will be responsbile for rent from the date you move out, until he is able to relet the property; you are also liable for all of his expenses attributable to reletting the property (advertising, agent fees, etc...) and finally, you are liable for any difference in rent that he can collect for those four months (if he has to rent it for less to get it filled). I'd be very very careful about this New Hope for Homeowners Act - before you jump back to your home and incur a big penalty from your landlord, you had better do your research to be sure you qualify for relief, that the relief will come in time to help you, and that you have an exit plan as I believe the relief under the Act is only temporary and not permenant. Assuming you stopped paying your mortgage in January or February, you're staring at $42,000 in past due P&I payments, plus interest, late fees and penalties. I'd be very very cautious about moving back on the hope that this Act will help you - like most legislation, its full of holes and traps and it would be devestating to move back into the house only to lose it a little further down the road.

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