Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Tenant rental issue

The first legal question to be resolved is whether the person is a true tenant or only a lodger. If a person is sharing the whole home, even if they have a separate bedroom, they are probably not a tenant, but only a lodger. A lodger can be told to leave at any time without benefit of eviction proceedings; however, the lodger who is there under an agreement for a particular term - here six months - may have a claim for damages for breach of the contract. This is somewhat unlikely because presumably they lose no more by loss of the lodging than you lose by loss of the "rent."

If on the other hand the person has exclusive use of a bedroom, especially one with a separate entrance, but no shared use of the rest of the house, the person might be deemed a tenant.

In either case, whether the broken rules give you a right to terminate the agreement would depend upon whether the rules are part of the agreement or whether you revealed them or made them up after the deal was made. This is of minor importance if this is a lodging arrangement, but very important if it is a lease, because you can't terminate a lease without a breach by the tenant.