Legal Service Center focuses on defending the rights of California TENANTS to a safe, healthy and secure home.
Often times, circumstances change and breaking a lease becomes necessary. While you might be responsible for the rest of the rent due on the lease, the landlord also has a duty to mitigate these damages by trying to find someone to take over the existing time left on the rental agreement.
At the Legal Service Center, if you are breaking a lease we can help you protect your legal rights and make sure that you are treated fairly. Throughout Southern California, people seek out our firm because we are straightforward and honest. Whether breaking a lease comes as a result of a need to move away because of a job change or because there is an issue with the tenantability of a a rental home or an apartment, such as leaky windows, lack of proper heat, rodents or mold contamination, we can help you. Contact Legal Service Center today to learn more about your tenant’s rights in this situation.
In many situations, breaking a lease allows the landlord to increase the rent for the next tenant. However, if the landlord is unable to find someone willing to pay the new rental price and ends up renting the unit to someone at a lower price than what you paid on your lease agreement, you may be liable for the difference in the amount for the balance of your lease term.
Under California Civil Code section 1941 and the sections that follow, a landlord has a duty to make sure all six conditions of habitability are fulfilled:
- Walls, floors, roofs, windows and doors that keep out the weather, including rainwater
- Plumbing and gas fixtures that work properly
- Adequate working permanent heating fixtures (NOT portable heaters)
- The common area of the building and grounds kept clean by the landlord
- Adequate garbage containers
- Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair.
If ANY one of these conditions is not being met and your landlord is on notice of the problem without having it rectified, Legal Service Center can help you assert your rights – especially if you are in a situation where you need to Break Your Lease. We may be able to break the lease by claiming constructive eviction.
If the circumstances warrant, we can also help you pursue money damages for living in potentially substandard living conditions.
For a consultation with Legal Service Center, call (855) 775-5400.
