Here is my situation. I am currently in a lease with two other people and it ends in about five months. It is not month to month but has a very specific begin and end date. We just got a call from our landlord that we have about a month to move out because the owner is coming back from overseas and needs to live here. Is this legal at all, do we get any monetary compensation, and is it worth fighting? I was told by one of my roommates, who owns rental property, that the rental agency or landlord will be required to pay us for the remaining months on our lease. Any help on this subject would be much appreciated.

I am very confused as to how it is month to month but also has a start and end date?

Do you have a written lease agreement? If not, then most states require that the landlord to give you 30 days notice to vacate; if so, the landlord cannot just break your lease because the owner needs a place to stay.

I have yet to find any law that states the landlord has to pay you for the remaining months on the lease; what state are you in? Does your roommate have a reference for this law he believes exists?

I live in California. I'm not sure where my roommate got that info and have been trying to check on it. The only basis for it that I can see is that we have to also agree to break the lease (which is written) and thus can force them to meet our demands or we stay here until the end of the lease. They have no legal reason to break the lease, i.e. we have not done anything to warrant an eviction.

If you have a written lease agreement, the owner cannot force you to move just because they decided they're moving back in.