Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Residential Lease Assignment

You lease most likely prohibits you assigning the lease agreement to anyone else without the written consent of the landlord. Are you the only one who signed the lease? If your roommate also signed it, they must get the landlord to release them. If your landlord is satisfied with the credit history and other matters relating to the new roommate, there should be no problem adding his name to the existing lease and releasing your old roommate. The landlord may require a new lease be signed. Good luck.

Re: Residential Lease Assignment

The fact that you and your old roommate are hold-over tenants PROBABLY doesn't affect the assignability of your old roommate's rights under the lease; it just means that there is less to assign. As has been pointed out, however, the right to assign may always have been limited by a specific provision of the lease.

It would probably be in everyone's best interest to give serious consideration to getting a new lease with the right names on it; avoids new roommate having to move out within weeks of moving in; also, I think the rental market is pretty soft and it might be a good time to lock in a favorable rate.