Gave 30 day notice and vacated

[James Helm]

I was on month to month lease I gave my 30 day notice on dec.1, 2020 and vacated. They were going to rent to my friend who moved in. He never filled out application or paid rent. Now the apartment complex is trying to charge me for the January rents even though i was told i was no longer liable as of Jan. 1. Does anyone know the statue in this regard?

[Russ B.]

Not sure what the laws are in Sacramento, but I would start with a few general tips that are always helpful - keep anything you have in writing (especially your notice to vacate + any response, and any communication around the new tenant). For anything you don't, I would write down every detail you remember now. This way, there's not a question later on (ie, in court months from now) that maybe something happened that you just forgot.

The big question will probably be around whether the unit was ever actually vacated - is your old lease still active, or is this a new "lease" that they botched, or is it a squatter situation?

If your friend moved in while you were still there, or got the keys from you and moved in right after you left, then they can probably argue that "you" never moved out, but instead sublet the place without permission.

In this case, there's a good chance a judge will say that you do owe the rent (plus any damages), and it'll be on you to go sue the friend for it. 

This is where it would be great to be able to show that you gave back the keys on x date, did a walkthrough, got back your deposit, etc. If they found someone living there after all that and took their sweet time reacting, it would be on them. 

The other thing that may have happened, whether you owe the rent or not, is that you might have been named on your friend's eviction. If they're being evicted now, you might have a limited time to avoid getting an eviction on your background... probably worth asking a lawyer.