Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: One of joint tenants on lease vacating lease prior to term

The notice is irrelevant. The lease is for a year, and she is liable for 1 year. Unfortunately, you probably signed the same lease agreement as she did, which means you are liable to the landlord for the full rent, and she is liable to you for her half until the term of the lease is over. You can't just give a 30 day notice on a lease. That is the reason for them.

Re: One of joint tenants on lease vacating lease prior to term

Most residential leases are worded so that all tenants whose names are on the lease are liable for the full rent for the entire term of the lease. That doesn't allow the landlord to double collect, of course; it does, however, give the landlord a choice of whom to sue. So, if the lease isn't paid by someone, the landlord will go after the easiest target and/or the deepest pockets.

Also, whichever tenant ends up paying less than his/her share is separately liable to tenant(s) who paid more than their share.

Finally, a lease for a fixed term cannot be terminated prior to the end of the term merely by giving notice. If all tenants breach the lease and vacate, however, notice to the landlord of these facts triggers the landlord's "duty" to mitigate his potential damages by making a good-faith effort to re-rent the now-vacant space.

(Technically, mitigating damages isn't a duty, it is only a precondition to recovery of damages. If the landlord chooses to leave the place vacant, he can do so, but the amount he can recover for breach of lease will be limited to his unavoidable losses.)