When you rent a unit in California, you should stay for the time specified in the contract. If you break a lease before the said time, you may need to pay your landlord a termination fee or lose your security deposit. However, there are some cases under which you can break your lease without facing repercussions.
#1 Your apartment is not habitable
There are health and safety standards in California. In the case of a unit that violates these codes or presents structural issues that make you feel unsafe, you can break the lease. There are specific requirements you should follow to be able to move out when repairing is not possible. Take into consideration that these issues should be serious. Some examples are lack of heat, damage to floors or stairways that put you or your family in danger, or lack of essential services.
#2 Violation of privacy rights or harassment
Landlord harassment or violation of privacy rights are valid reasons to terminate a rent arrangement. Suppose you are in a situation in which your landlord is constantly violating your privacy with actions like removing doors/windows, changing locks, and turning off utilities without warning or justifiable reasons. In that case, this can be considered “constructive eviction.”
Under California state laws, your landlord needs to give a 24 hours notice before entering the unit you are renting. Failing to do this can fall under harassment or violation of privacy and is a valid reason to break your lease.
#3 Call to military duty
You are able to break your lease if you join the military or relocate due to deployment. This is valid under federal law and under the protection of the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act. This protects the rights of uniformed service members.
In order to break the lease without facing legal repercussions, you must prove that the rental agreement was signed before you entered active duty and that you will be at military work for the following 90 days. In addition, it is necessary to send a notice to your landlord explaining the deployments.
The process in which you break your lease before time should be handled carefully. In case of need of legal help, contact the Divine Law Office.
