Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
breach of contract
My landlord has been in breach of contract for the past 9-10 months, by not providing a gardener, as is stated in our contract. She has been notified of this, and has yet to provide a gardener. Is this grounds for early termination of the lease? If so, which section(s) of the California laws apply, so as I may arrange a case against my landlord.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: breach of contract
Not likely. Still may be breach of contract and actionable.
Re: breach of contract
Well, breaches of contract are divided into two categories, those that are sufficiently "material" to excuse further performance by the non-breaching party, and those that warrant, perhaps, an adjustment in the contract price but do not give the non-breaching party the right to declare a total breach and suspend performance and/or rescind the contract.
A lease is nowadays treated pretty much as a form of contract.
The lease itself may contain language defining breaches that will terminate the lease, or language relating to "cure" of breaches, remedies for breach, etc., and you should look for those.
On the whole, unless the services of a gardener were rather important, lack thereof may not warrant your ceasing to perform under the lease by stopping all rent payments and moving out.
Instead, you should consider asking for a rent adjustment to reflect the value of the missing service, and if the adjustment isn't made, you could sue in small claims court.
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