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Who to sue: landlord and/or his agent?

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ybfaluhelp

Junior Member
California

I had to prematurely move out of my apartment because of unresolved noise issues. During the negotiation process, I offered to find a replacement tenant for the landlord. However, he rejected my offer through his property agent. Also, a lot of dealings with the landlord either with respect to the noise issue, or move-out, were done through his agent.

He has kept my deposit.

I am suing for the refund of my deposit based mainly on the fact that he failed to mitigate his loss (by refusing my offer to find a replacement tenant).

It was all in SMS texts. So proof is not an issue.

I am sure that I need to sue the Landlord, but should I also include his agent as the defendant since the landlord's position was communicated to me via the agent?

In other words, in the court, can I present the SMS text sent from the agent as evidence for the landlord's position/claim, etc?

Thanks!
 
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Gail in Georgia

Senior Member
You can, of course, sue whomever you wish but what makes you believe a landlord has to agree to an offer a tenant makes to find a replacement tenant?

A landlord has to mitigate his losses by making the effort to rerent the unit as soon as possible; as a general rule, a court gives a landlord two months to achieve this. During this time period a tenant who breaks the lease would still be responsible for the rent (unless, of course, the lease expires during this time period).

Gail
 

BL

Senior Member
You would not use the LL failed to mitigate his/her losses .

You would have to prove ( if provided by Law or the Lease ) that the LL unfairly denied an assignment of lease , or you were otherwise constructively evicted ( meaning issues were so bad there , the LL did nothing to resolve them ,and the issue(s) were so bad you had to move out ).

You can name both.

A LL's agent would most likely be in court anyways,even if you just named the LL.
 
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tranquility

Senior Member
One does not have the unfettered right to assign a lease. I know of no landlords that would accept a breaching tenants "help" in finding a replacement. The only issue will be if the landlord made reasonable efforts to mitigate his damages. That he didn't use the OP is of no import. (The noise issue could be something. But, unless it is the landlord's fault, it is not a constructive eviction. And, even if it were the landlord's fault, there needs to be a lot more than a claim.)
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
California

I had to prematurely move out of my apartment because of unresolved noise issues. During the negotiation process, I offered to find a replacement tenant for the landlord. However, he rejected my offer through his property agent. Also, a lot of dealings with the landlord either with respect to the noise issue, or move-out, were done through his agent.

He has kept my deposit.

I am suing for the refund of my deposit based mainly on the fact that he failed to mitigate his loss (by refusing my offer to find a replacement tenant).

It was all in SMS texts. So proof is not an issue.

I am sure that I need to sue the Landlord, but should I also include his agent as the defendant since the landlord's position was communicated to me via the agent?

In other words, in the court, can I present the SMS text sent from the agent as evidence for the landlord's position/claim, etc?

Thanks!
Is this the same LL that you have been posting about since you joined this site?:confused:

Px Hx.
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
I am too lazy to look up CA-specific case law, but the general rule is that barring any independent tort, the agent of a disclosed principle is not liable for the principle's acts. If this holds true in CA, it will be a quick win for the agent.
 

sandyclaus

Senior Member
...It was all in SMS texts. So proof is not an issue.

I am sure that I need to sue the Landlord, but should I also include his agent as the defendant since the landlord's position was communicated to me via the agent?

In other words, in the court, can I present the SMS text sent from the agent as evidence for the landlord's position/claim, etc?

Thanks!
SMS texts may not necessarily be considered irrefutable proof in court. Electronic communication, such as emails or text messages, can all too easily be faked, or "spoofed", to make it appear they are coming from someone when they really aren't, and the contents can't always be verified. Without certification from the provider, some judges won't accept it as valid evidence.

As for who to serve/sue, you also have no proof that the LL concurred with what you claim their agent said as far as rejecting your proposed replacement tenant. You have only the agent's claim (or someone SAYING they are the agent - again, it goes back to proving who actually sent and received those text messages). It's entirely possible that the LL didn't agree with their decisions at all - and that would be a valid argument for them to make as well.

Sure, a judge will probably hear what you have to say, but don't necessarily count on them finding in your favor on this one.
 

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