We rent a house in Los Angeles and signed a year lease with the management company. When the first year was over they offered us a month to month but we asked for another year which they agreed to. Currently we have a signed yearly lease that ends in August. We recently received a letter from them stating that the owner wants to move back in and we have 60 days to vacate which is 2 months before the lease is up.

Can they force us to vacate before the lease is up? I thought a lease was a binding agreement between two parties.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Normally you could stay until the lease ends but careefully read your lease. Since they originally wanted you month to month they may have added a stipluation regarding early termination. If there is any clause like that it must be on your copy of the lease too not just theirs. No clause, you stay.

Yes a lease is binding on both parties. So, unless the lease includes a termination clause for their benefit, you can stay. However, what you might want to do, to avoid unpleasentness, is to ask for a buy out. If they want to terminate early make them pay your moving costs or other monetary compensation.

If your house is under LA rent control ordinance, there may be a provision for the owner to cancel a lease to occupy the property. Double check and if there is no such provision or provision in your lease agreement... ask for a buy out.

Sorry scott< I got the need to spread the comments around. I agree with you. That if you have a binding lease with no termination clause, the lease is binding. But as scott said, to avoid unpleasantness, you might want to find a new place anyway. They can make life a nightmare for you to get what they want.
We were living in rented condos and the landlord wanted to change that to selling them. Those who contiuned to rent the landlord refused rent money then filed for eviction. That's just one thing they could do to make you move.
If you're not sure about the language, have an attorney or legal aid go over you lease agreement. As Scot said, the clause has to be on both copies, yours and your landlords.
In addition to moving expenses, you could ask for you deposit back. They have to give it to you or explain why. All the more to seek legal councel

This is just to emphasize what cvillecpm said. Los Angeles does have some special laws in the rent control area to allow owners to move back into their houses. So, if the owner was just trying to get you out early, that would probably be illegal. But if they are doing it so that they can move back in, it might not be. The law might require them to offer you some sort of financial recompense, but I am not sure on that.

And a quick Google turns up this: LA City Housing Law: Evictions (http://www.tenant.net/Other_Areas/Calif/losangel/evic.html)

A landlord may bring an action to recover possession of a rental unit only upon one of the following reasons:

8. The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental unit for the use and occupancy by the landlord, or the landlord's spouse, children, or parents, provided the landlord is a natural person, or for a resident manager.

Reasons 8,9,10,11 in the list above require the approval of the Rent Stabilization Division. A landlord in all those cases must fill in a form and file it with the division.

For reasons 8,9,10, 11 a copy of the appropriate declaration must be served upon the tenant or on before the date in which the tenant is given a 30 day notice to quit. Also for all of these evictions, relocation assistance is required to be paid by the landlord within 15 days after the service of the notice.

So it appears that yes, they can ask you to leave, and they only need to give you 30 days notice. But they do need to pay you something, which is probably specified in the law. And a further quick Google gets me:

Monetary relocation assistance is available to eligible and qualified tenants.

Qualified tenants are those who are 62 years or older, handicapped, or disabled, or who have one or more minor dependent children.Qualified tenants are entitled to receive $5,000.

All other tenants are eligible, and they are entitled to receive $2,000. These amounts are paid per unit, not per tenant.