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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    7

    Default Wrong Date for a Lease to Expire

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

    I want to break my lease and reading through it I noticed that several things on the lease are wrong, including the date that the lease is supposed to end. It says January 31, 2009, but the landlord meant 2010. Since it is signed both by the landlord and myself, does this mean that the lease has in fact expired and I don't actually need to try to break it early because I am no longer under a lease?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    327

    Default Re: Wrong Date for a Lease to Expire

    Technically, I do not think it matters. However, you could informally hold it over the landlords head to force him to agree. Legally, if it went to court, under oath, there was an agreement for a year-long lease with an error on the contract; 2009 vs 2010....you would probably lose.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: Wrong Date for a Lease to Expire

    Thanks for responding. I want to follow up and see what you think of this.

    Not only is the lease end date wrong, but the contract also shows it begining on three different dates: March 2006, Feb. 10, 2009, and Feb. 28, 2007 (we actually began on 2/7/09). Also, the original spoken understanding we had with the landlord was for an 11 month lease, so even that isn't reflected anywhere, which leads me to believe that the ambiguity of the contract works in our favor. I don't think a judge could look at it and clearly decipher the author's intent.

    Also, the reason we want to move out is the landlord consistently violated the 24 hour notification for entry. We have this documented very well. I was just hoping that this lease would be an easy way out.

    Please let me know what you think and thank you very much.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Wrong Date for a Lease to Expire

    When there are clerical errors in a lease, the judge will entertain each side's version of what they believed the contract said, and make a decision. Generally that favors the side who did not write the contract, as ambiguities are normally construed in favor of the party who did not write the contract. Ministerial errors can be corrected.

    If you go to court and say "We agreed to an 11 month lease," and the landlord says, "They agreed to an 11 month lease," the judge will have no problem recognizing that it was intended to be an 11 month lease despite the clerical errors.

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