- Jurisdiction
- California
Landlord Albert has a vacant three bedroom apartment and finds a group of three, Betty, Carl, and Deb, who like the unit and fill out an application. Albert runs credit and checks references.
Though the three are not perfect, the unit has been vacant for more than a month and Albert is eager to get it filled. So he emails a pdf of the lease to Betty, Carl, and Deb and they all sign it (along with a cosigner Eddie, Deb's father, who is brought in because she has bad credit). The lease is for a year and contains the "jointly and severally" language.
However, right after the Landlord sends the lease out, another person Francis responds to an ad for the apartment. She has stellar credit and a great job with a very stable company. The landlord Albert has not signed the contract and would like to switch to Francis, but is concerned that he may already have a contract with Betty, Carl, Deb and Eddie.
Would this be a breach of contract? If so, what remedy might the original group have against the Landlord Albert?
Though the three are not perfect, the unit has been vacant for more than a month and Albert is eager to get it filled. So he emails a pdf of the lease to Betty, Carl, and Deb and they all sign it (along with a cosigner Eddie, Deb's father, who is brought in because she has bad credit). The lease is for a year and contains the "jointly and severally" language.
However, right after the Landlord sends the lease out, another person Francis responds to an ad for the apartment. She has stellar credit and a great job with a very stable company. The landlord Albert has not signed the contract and would like to switch to Francis, but is concerned that he may already have a contract with Betty, Carl, Deb and Eddie.
Would this be a breach of contract? If so, what remedy might the original group have against the Landlord Albert?