Full question:
I live in San Francisco, California and signed a one year lease and paid a deposit yesterday and today I do not want to move out of my old apartment. Can I tell them I changed my mind and get my deposit back? I heard that I had three days to cancel my lease?
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Subcategory: Lease Termination
- Date:
- State: California
Answer:
You may be thinking of the federal cooling off period, which generally doesn’t apply to apartment leases. Generally, when a lease is signed, the terms of the lease will govern early termination of the lease. If the lease terms don't allow for early termination, the tenant may be held liable for the remainder of the lease, unless the tenant can prove a breach of the lease terms by the landlord. However, the landlord has a duty to mitigate (lessen) damages by making reasonable attempts to relet the premises. This generally means that the landlord must advertise the premises and make attempts to show the premises to prospective tenants. It will be a matter of subjective determination for the court, based on all the facts and circumstances involved, whether reasonable attempts have been made to relet the premises. Some of the factors that may be considered, among others, include the reasons for turning down the prospective tenants and whether the landlord is in fact out of town and unable to show the premises.
Please see:
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf
http://defeatyourlandlord.com/breaklease.htm
http://www.caltenantlaw.com/breaklease.htm
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
