All Forum Posts by: Kyle Huber

@Kayla Shumate, I'm a California real estate attorney, broker, and investor.  I'll give you general information on this issue applicable to California but will not comment or advise on your specific situation.  A lease agreement is a binding contract that has requirements of both parties, landlord and tenant.  Thus, if the tenant moves out of the property before the end of the lease contract, the tenant has breached the contract and is subject to all applicable remedies.  In California, this can include keeping the security deposit and seeking a judgment for the amount of rent between the time that the tenant stops paying rent and the time that the landlord is again able to rent the property to a new tenant using reasonable efforts to rent the property.  Your lease agreement may also dictate the process and remedies for the breach and every lease agreement can be different.  Check out this handbook for more information: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/index.shtml.