By Taylor Campion, Senior Managing Attorney, Family Violence Appellate Project
Complicated obstacles make escaping abuse safely challenging for survivors of domestic violence. This is especially true when a survivor needs to leave their home quickly and has few financial resources. For survivors who are tenants, an ongoing lease should not be an obstacle because California law allows domestic violence survivors to end a lease early without financial penalty (1).
Specifically, California Civil Code Section 1946.7, lets survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder or dependent adult abuse and survivors of crimes that caused injury or crimes that involved a deadly weapon, force or threat of force to move out of their rental unit before their lease ends (2). It also lets a survivor’s household member or immediate family member move out before their lease ends (3). The law prohibits landlords from charging an early lease termination fee or rent for the rest of the lease term (4).
A survivor may end their lease with as little as 14 days’ notice. So, after giving their landlord proper written notice ending the lease, the survivor only owes rent for 14 days (5). If the landlord re-rents the unit in less than 14 days, the landlord must return the rent to the survivor for the days the unit is rented by someone else (6).
To end their lease early, the survivor must give their landlord written notice stating the survivor is ending their lease early and a document that verifies they are a survivor (7). The survivor, not the landlord, gets to choose which of the following four documents they use to verify they are a survivor:
- a copy of a restraining order or protective order issued within the last 180 days, that protects the survivor, or
- a copy of a police report issued within the last 180 days, confirming that the survivor filed a report alleging they are a survivor, or
- a Qualified Third Party Letter verifying that the survivor is a survivor, or
- any other documentation that reasonably verifies the crime or act of abuse (8).
The law does not give examples of what other documentation can verify the crime or abuse, but emails or voice messages containing threats from the person who committed the abuse or crime could verify the abuse or crime (9).
After a survivor ends their lease early, the landlord should return their security deposit as usual (10). This means, the landlord must return the security deposit or provide an itemized list of deductions no later than 21 days after the survivor moves out of the unit (11). If the landlord does not return the survivor’s security deposit correctly, the survivor may be able to sue them in small claims court for the remaining security deposit and up to two times the cost of the security deposit (12).
A survivor’s right to break a lease early is an important legal tool in the fight to end domestic violence. By reducing survivors’ financial barriers to breaking a lease, the early lease termination law helps survivors stay safe and leave abuse faster.
Sources
(1) Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.7.
(2) Id. at § 1946.7, subd. (a).
(3) Id. at § 1946.7, subd. (a).
(4) Id. at § 1946.7, subd. (e).
(5) Id. at § 1946.7, subd. (e).
(6) Id.
(7) Id. at § 1946.7, subd. (b).
(8) Id.
(9) Id; Assem. Floor Analyses, 3d reading analysis of Sen. Bill No. 1190(2019-2020 Reg. Sess.) Aug 21, 2020, p. 2-3.
(10) See generally Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1950.5 & 1946.7.
(11) Id. at § 1950.5, subd. (g).
(12) Id. § 1950.5, subd. (l).
