california residential-lease
Deposit return after lease is up with multi-renters
<p>My son is renting a 2-bedroom apartment with 4 other people in Santa Cruz, CA. </p>

<p>It was initially agreed that he would share a room with one of the other tenants.  That agreement did not work out, because when he got there all of the space in the room had been taken up by the other person. So basically my son has been in the living room.</p>

<p>We knew he had signed the lease and he needed to follow through on it, which he did. </p>

<p>The lease is ending at the end of August and he will be leaving the apartment  and <em>not</em> resigning the lease.  The other tenants will be staying and resigning the lease.  The main person who seems to be the head person of the apartment says he will not give him his deposit back <em>until</em> they find another renter to share the room. But, as I stated, that person does not really share the room. 
As I see it, it will be quite hard to find someone to rent a room that is not shareable. </p>

<p>How can he get his quarter of the deposit back?</p>

<p>I presume the 4 of them are cosignatories on the lease. A party can terminate the lease or renew it. If one party does not agree, then there is no agreement (lease). So assuming that the party has given proper notice, the lease is not renewed. Whether or not the landlord and the other tenants want to agree to a lease is their business. When a lease is terminated, the landlord has 21 days to return the deposit (<a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&amp;sectionNum=1950.5" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cal. Civ. 1950.5(g)(1)</a>). The existing lease may contain an automatic renewal clause, so the tenant may need to provide 30 days notice.</p>
