Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Refund of rent for sublease

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NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --

Try suing your "landlord" (the sub-lessor) in Small Claims Court.

Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.

Re: Refund of rent for sublease

Your deal is with the prime tenant, who is in effect your landlord, and as such is required to follow all the laws relating to landlords. The 'prime landlord' and what he/she knew is not very important.

You omit one possibly important fact--to whom did you pay the September rent, the prime tenant who is your landlord, or the 'prime landlord?'

So, the question is, was your sublease agreement due to expire by its terms on 9/15? If so, you are not entitled to ANY notice, or put another way, the fact of expiration is in itself adequate notice.

If you paid rent for all of September but only lived there through 9/15 because your sublease expired, the prime tenant should refund any rent you paid for 9/16-9/30.

There are some technical points of law regarding when and from whom mistaken payments are recoverable, but in small claims I think you would win on the equities of the situation, assuming you have put forth, and can substantiate, all the facts in your question.

Re: Refund of rent for sublease

You did not have an agreement with the landlord, you had it with the "Prime Tenant". He is the one that owes you money. Demand a refund from him, and then sue in small claims if he doesn't pay. He may have also violated some landlord/tenant laws.