Breaking A Lease With 3 Other People Still On It?

Question

Myself and 3 friends (at the time we were friends) signed a one-year lease agreement in California. During this time, my ex-best friend's boyfriend has shown violent, angry tendencies (cursing at everyone, breaking chairs, desks, brooms, etc and issuing graphic threats)...this guy's father has even tried extorting me for the full payment of car repairs that he didn't finish. I ended up getting my stepfather involved (he is a cop and told the guy to stop trying to threaten me for more money)...my roommate's did nothing about this situation, just let the guy say whatever he wanted to me.

My ex-best friend also has a mixed-Lab 7 month old dog who is out of control. He tries to bite and scratch me as a way of playing, and no one tries controlling him. He jumps all over (probably causes scratches) to my car when I pull in the driveway and they just "look" instead of getting the stupid animal away from me.

Is there ANY way I can get off of this stupid lease without being penalized?!?

My landlord (whom I talked to several months ago, before the problem of personal safety became an issue) said that I could sublet my portion to someone. The person would have to apply, just as I did, and the roomie's would have to agree with this person. They did not want to deal with someone they didn't know, so they made really stupid "rules" such as it couldn't be a person of another race, couldn't be a foreigner, couldn't be an overweight person, or just a general "weirdo" (drugs, drinking, etc)... Most of these don't seem very reasonable to me, but I just gave up on the situation back then. Now that my safety is compromised, I am desperate to get out.

I believe that we are jointly liable because I remember the lease saying we are each responsible for the rent in full. If I leave (if they want to stay there...) they would have to fork over the money but I'm concerned that they may try to sue me later.

Oh and the dog destroys things:
my finance contract for my car
my book
my fli-flops
my towel
he ate my chicken (it was sitting on my plate and I was out of the room and my door was closed)
he ate my fettucine (same as described above)
he ate my apple sauce

This wouldn't be such a problem if she would own up for her animal's actions and replace the items he damages, but she just ignores it and doesn't even offer an apology.

Also, the house is 3 bedroom...the guys have their own room and me and my ex-best friend share the huge master bedroom. She doesn't have a bed so only her belongings are in here and she sleeps in her boyfriend's room.

Recently, some of my personal items have come up misplaced or damaged. A couple of weeks ago my facecloth had toothpaste on it that wasn't from me (I'm not dumb enough to wipe a toothpaste covered face) but of course everyone denied involvement...few weeks before that my towels have come up w/bleach stains.

Lease isn't over til April

I got this from that site. thanks a lot!!!

Serious housing code violations, lack of adequate heat, serious rodent infestation, or extremely unsafe utilities or appliances are examples of factors upon which courts will base a finding that the implied warranty of habitability has been breached.

Building, grounds, and appurtenances at the time of commencement of the lease or rental agreement in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin, and all areas under control of the landlord kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin.

Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.

Heating facilities which conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order.

So, I've written a letter: broken window, heater is broken, been 6 months

Answer 1

Review the landlord-tenant statutes for your state. Legally, they cannot deny housing on the basis of race, weight, height, religion, or anything of that nature. That's federal law.

Anything that is not supported by California law in a lease agreement will not hold water in court. Normally, when a situation becomes so dire that a tenant is forced to move to preserve his or her saftey, the lease becomes null. This includes threats to your saftey and property.

More information can be found here regarding Calfornia laws and statutes on rental property.

http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/ref09.pdf

"California residential landlords are considered to be businesses within the meaning of the anti-discrimination statutes and are bound by them according to their terms.

All persons in the state are deemed to be equal and entitled to equal accommodations, advantages, etc., despite their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability {Civil Code Sec. 51} Age discrimination is specifically prohibited {Civil. Code Sec. 51.2}, although senior housing is permissible {Civil. Code Sec. 51.3}.

Landlords are liable to their tenants under the sexual harassment statute {Civil. Code Sec. 51.9}

State Laws;

1. Fair Housing Act (Rumford) {Govt. Code 12955}

2. Senior Citizen Housing {Civil Code 51.3}

3. Handicapped Rights {Civil Code 54}

4. Unruh Act {Civil Code 52-53}

Discrimination in violation of these statutes may subject the landlord to substantial penalties {Civil. Code Sec. 52}"

Answer 2

Land lord needs to be reported to Dept. of Housing for obvious dicrimination. Its flat our against the law. And also if there are 3 people on the lease, with the permission of the the other 2 leasees', you can be taken off. The 2 other parties along with the landlord have to agree to it.

Answer 3

Somewhere in your City or County there should be a Legal Aid Office, these people generally handle tenant-Landlord disputes. Try to find them as soon as possible, do to the circumstances, they may be able to tell you how to get out of the lease. If all else fails, call the cops,these people are threatening your well being, they might not do anything, but , it might put the fear of God into them for awhile, long enough for you to get out of there...GOOD LUCK......LATER

Answer 4

you could pass any time you prefer, yet you will prefer pay up for doing so. What you're saying isn't grounds for breaking a hire, it relatively is an argument for the police and with evidence in all probability grounds for eviction of your upstairs neighbor in case you landlord chooses.