Can You Break a Lease if Your Landlord Wants to Sell the Rental Property

[Drumsrlrl]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: California

Facts:

#1. I am the lessee

#2. I am 4 months into a one (1) year lease

#3. Purchasing a home and want to break lease

#4. Wrote landlord gving 60 days notice - offered to hire professional property management firm to advertise, screen and provide credit qualified tenants

#5. Spoke to landlord about 60 days notice, offer to get tenants

#6. Landlord stated he was going to try and sell the property

#7 Landlord also stated that he did not want me trying to rent the property - that he "gave us a break on rent" and that he would seek new tenants if proprty dopes not sell

#8. The lease is a CAR form - however neither box is checked in terms of "month-to-month" or "lease" - however, he wrotet in September 2012 on the lease line (trying to say it is not a lease based on ambiguity seems iffy at best)

Questions:

#1. If he places in MLS, what is my situation - this severly limits my ability to mitigate damages

#2. If I am presented with an estoppel certificate stating terms of lease, etc. - should I sign? I doubt I would be - but not sure who would buy a property without one...

#3. If escrow falls out - am I allowed to stay vis-a-vis terms of lease (given that nobody sign or modifies agreement as it stands today)

Any advice helpful - it is early in the process!!!!

[Mr. Knowitall]

Your landlord's sale of the rental home does not affect the continued validity of your lease.

If your landlord seeks out tenants at a higher rate of rent than you are paying, you can use that as a defense against a claim for rent beyond your move-out date by claiming that the increase prevented him from finding a new tenant (or finding one as quickly) such that you should not be held liable for lost rent. Similarly, if he declines to look for tenants because he is trying to sell the home and things its being vacant will help him sell, you can use that as a defense to any claim for lost rent. If you do know of somebody willing to take over the rental at your current rate of rent, let you landlord know in writing; that also will serve as a defense if he declines to rent to that person because he wants to increase the rent (although if the person is not suitable for other reasons, such as bad credit, the landlord can reject him on those other, reasonable grounds).

Does your lease require you to sign an estoppel certificate?