Lease Termination (Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro: apartment, leasing, eviction)

[dquiroz]

My situation is as follows:
I have a 19 year old daughter attending college in Oakland CA who entered into a lease agreement with her boyfriend/roommate for an apartment in Berkley CA. Unfortunately, the day we moved her into the apartment, her now ex-boyfriend went into a rage and basically pulled a knife on her and was throwing her belongings all over the apartment. The Berkley police were called and he was arrested for public intoxication, needless to say, as parents we made the decision that our daughter would no longer be living in the apartment.

We discussed the situation with the landlord and understand that our daughter is now responsible for a lease termination fee to cover the advertising expenses, as well as continued rental payments until the apartment is re-rented. Our daughter and the ex-boyfriend were also required to provide a written letter of lease termination stating when the apartment would be vacated. This was done and the ex-boyfriend agreed to be out of the apartment by the 31st of May.

We have tried to get an update from the landlord as to whether he has started to advertise the property as well as information on whether anybody has been shown the apartment and he has been very uncooperative in providing us any information. All he has told us is that he has posted the apartment on the website, craigslist and he basically keeps reiterating that our daughter is responsible to make the rental payment. We have also learned the ex-boyfriend is now also trying to extend his 'move out' date into June. We are starting to feel that the landlord is not even trying to re-rent the property since he knows that he will keep collecting the money from our daughter (which is essentially us - the parents). Since our daughter was not required to have a co-signer when she signed the lease, we are wondering what is the worst case scenario that can happen to her if we decide to quit sending the landlord her share of the rent? And is there anything we can do to legally "terminate" the lease due to the circumstance of why she had to move out to begin with (i.e. - domestic violence)?

[Luke9686]

First of all, read the lease. I wouldn't completely trust what the landlord says. If you are complying with what the lease says, and have submitted the letter, you will need to try to get the guy out of there. If they are both on the lease.

The best thing would to contact an attorney.

[Ultrarunner]

For legal advice you really need to ask a lawyer... Berkeley also has a Rent Control Board that governs just about every aspect concerning Residential Rentals...

From my experience, your timing could not be worse. Berkeley is a University Town and as such many landlords have trouble finding renters as summer approaches...

Your real problem is with your Daughter's Ex Boyfriend... not the owner.

My guess is that they are jointly and severally responsible for the lease and any damages that result. It is hard to follow through on an unlawful detainer action when one of the parties to the lease wishes to remain during the lease period.

At least, you are not a co-signer... so you have no financial responsibility.

I would imagine the owner would go after both the boyfriend and your daughter should the rent stop... She would then have the opportunity to explain the situation for the judge to decide...

The downside, in addition to a possible judgement, is that your Daughter will have an unlawful detainer action on her record that will make it very difficult to rent for a number of years and her credit will also be impacted if any judgement goes to collection...

The legal fees can easily run several thousand dollars should the ex boyfriend refuse to leave and eviction become necessary... sound like a case for Judge Judy.

I feel you pain... but, finances aside, you did the right thing...

[draptp911]

From what I know from DV is that if you could provide a police report ofthe incident that occur you could legally go to court and have the lease terminated. You have to make clear that your daughter fears for her life and that where she is living is not safe for her. The landlord cannot force her to stay there if there is a dv situation occuring. What you could also do is called a dv hotline and get advice about this situation. I hope that i was able to help

[vanbao]

Originally Posted by draptp911

From what I know from DV is that if you could provide a police report ofthe incident that occur you could legally go to court and have the lease terminated. You have to make clear that your daughter fears for her life and that where she is living is not safe for her. The landlord cannot force her to stay there if there is a dv situation occuring. What you could also do is called a dv hotline and get advice about this situation. I hope that i was able to help

I am sorry to say but your daughter is responsible for the lease along with her ex. And it is true that until the apartment is rented, she is responsible for any loss income to the landlord. This sucks but just think of it this way that is much better of now that she is not with that maniac any more. Her life is priceless. Expect the worst that the apartment won't be rented until September when the most students come back to school. If it is rented before that, that is a bonus. I know it is a lot of money but just think of your daughter's safety.

[blogorama]

I realize this post is old, but in case anybody else is looking for an answer to this question, I will jump in. You are NOT responsible for the rest of the lease. The landlord is required by law to make a reasonable effort to rent the apartment, and they simply cannot argue that an apartment went unrented for the duration of your lease if they had in fact made a reasonable effort. This is why landlords that try to sue tenants for unpaid rents on a broken lease ALWAYS lose. Contact the Berkeley rent board if you have any questions about your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.

With respect to the woman whose daughter was threatened with violence and had to move out, she simply had even more evidence to justify a broken lease. I wish she would have mentioned who the landlord or property manager was, because those are the people to avoid, whether you are the property owner or a tenant.

[lacreta]

A VERY similiar situation happened to me and my now ex-boyfriend. He also went into rage after having one to many drinks which resulted in him being placed in jail. I went to my apartment leasing office and they basically told me the same thing that was told to the other lady. That I was responsible for the lease until they were able to re-rent it out. I was shocked, especially since these were ladies, that this was all they could do for me. I even provided them with police reports, restraining order, and proof that he was in jail and when he got out. Nothing! Since they gave me no other option I started paying them UNTIL I fould out that he wasn't paying them anything nor had they contacted him to do so. I need help!! This happened in San Leandro, Ca.