Breaking a lease

[Yang xiao]

Jurisdiction

California

I have signed a year long rental contract, due to I found some houses issues such as ants are lot, tenants are changing frequently, and rental are super high however the living quantity is low, therefore, I want to break the lease. I have just moved in half month long, what should I do now to protect myself without paying all the rest of the rentals and deposit?


Thank you,
Miranda

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I am not sure I understand so I will try to summarize. It seems like you signed a 1 year lease. You found that there are problems like there are problems with lots of ants. I don't understand the other issues - maybe you have other tenants living in the same house and there is a lot of turnover, different tenants moving in and out. You want to break the lease and leave.

Without seeing the lease it is impossible for anyone to tell you all your options. But you do have rights which may allow you to leave the lease. You must notify the landlord of conditions that don't allow you to live reasonably on the property, such as the landlord needing to have the ants removed from the property. But you must give the landlord the opportunity to do so before you tell the landlord he or she is in breach of the lease and you will not pay any more rent and leave. Sending notice of the problems in writing using certified mail or a method that there is proof (not by a phone call but, if you do call, follow up with an letter or email.)

 

[zddoodah]

Nothing in your post suggests you have grounds to break the lease. Ants are not uncommon and are easily dealt with by purchasing sprays and traps. That "tenants are changing frequently" is none of your concern and certainly not something that would allow you to break the lease. As far as the rent being "super high," you obviously knew how much the rent would be when you moved in, so that's no basis to break the lease. Not sure what you mean when you say the "living quality is low. If you explain that better, it might change my answer.

You should discuss your concerns with your landlord, and you certainly can ask your landlord to agree to let you ought of the lease for a price, but the landlord has no obligation to agree.