All Forum Posts by: James Qiu

If you can prove that the blockage is caused by the tenant not by defective plumbing system, you can ask the tenant to pay for it. Look at your Lease Agreement and local regulation. The standard CA lease agreement has a section specifically dealing with this issue.

I have a tenant who's moving out early. However he signed the lease to next March. So legally he is responsible for the remainder of the lease. The lease which is a standard CA rental lease also says the Landlord may withhold lost Rent from the security deposit. So does what mean I can legally keep all his deposit? If I can fill the rental quickly, do I need to refund the remaining depsoit after subtracting lost rent, cleaning, and other costs?

I'm pretty new at this, so any suggestions are appreciated.

Here in CA, for a month-to-month lease, you can terminate the lease by simply sending a official written notice 30-days in advance without providing any reason at all. Eviction is costly, and damage/costs are hard to collect. To sweeten the deal, you can offer to return some of his deposit immediately upon his moving out, provided he doesn't cause any major damages. It's better to spend your time and energy finding a new tenant than fighting a jerk, although your ego might feel otherwise.