Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
novation?
My apartment lease was about to expire so the manager wanted me to sign a renewal for a seven month lease which would raise my rent from $1,385 per month to $1,485 per month. I signed the lease renewal and paid the $1,485 on January 3rd. The next day I went back to the rental office and signed a form that the management provided to cancel the lease and go on a month-to-month tenancy. At the same time they asked for a check to make up the difference between the monthly lease amount ($1,385) and the month-to-month amount ($1,755) of $270. I paid the $270 and they deposited the check and the check has cleared. Now, on January 20th, they told me they checked with their attorneys and informed me that I am still responsible for the lease and I must pay $1,900 if I want to move out and break the lease before the lease expires. Am I still obligated to pay this $1,900 lease break penalty if I move out early? Is this novation? Any legal advice on this matter would be very much appreciated. Thanx,--name removed--
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: novation?
I'm not sure about "novation," but if the new month-to-month contract really canceled any prior leases (by its language) and this is what you and the leasing agency understood you were signing, then the month-to-month tenancy would likely stand.
Re: novation?
It depends on what the form you signed to cancel the lease says. The fact that they demanded and you paid the additional rent works in your favor.
"Novation" is a legal conclusion, not a fact you can point to. The important issue is what the parties to the contract intended. Usually, that intent is found in the language of the agreement. Only where the agreement - here the form you signed - is ambiguous will a court accept evidence of what the parties thought it meant.
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