Actually, this is the first thing I recommend you do. Go to the internet or your local library and look up relevant tenant law, including leases and evictions.
True, except that there are other issues as well. It seems that the structure is not entirely safe which depending on the laws in her jurisdiction may give her an out. A good attorney who specializes in this may be able to give her an answer off the top of his head.
My recommendation is that you try one of the clinics. If you are a student, does your university have a law school. Does that law school offer a student legal services program? If it does, they can give you an Answer. They are supervised by a law professor. There are legal resources available for those without money.
Here is a place for you to start looking before you talk to an attorney so you can get an idea of your rights.
Sorry, had to step out of the conversation for a bit. Other duties.
Aunt Flow, please understand that Tabby has given you a wonderful thing. A personal introduction to an attorney who practices in the field is priceless. Do exactly what she suggests. You have nothing to lose. The worst that can happen is he reluctantly declines. You’re out a few minutes for a couple phone calls. If he can and will help, that’s the best help you’re going to find given your financial circumstances. (Unless you can get a similar personal introduction through family or friends, which I assume you’ve already explored.) If he can’t or won’t, the agencies I linked will have a roster of attorney references. Most will do a free one hour consultation in which they discuss what they can (and can’t) do for you. After that, there will be fees. (Unless you can find a free clinic.) For that matter, Tabby’s referral will expect to be paid something. But fees spent diffusing the situation almost certainly will be less than the cost of letting it melt down. Just how it might be diffused is more than I can say. One possibilty is that the landlord does the repairs and lets you bring in new roommates. Another is that she lets you break the lease and (probably) keeps all or part of the deposit. If she won’t negotiate, breaking the lease and forcing her to pursue you is an option, but as has been mentioned, that has risks which should not be undertaken lightly. Which course to pursue and how to achieve it is what an attorney or tenant’s advocate will help you decide.
BTW, my regrets for not being able to help you with this myself (offline, on the Board is defintely not permitted). I am an attorney, but no longer in active practice and have never done landlord-tenant in California. But, I did L-T mediation long ago in a galaxy far, far away (Philadelphia). The advice you have received here is very good. You would be well served to take it. Good luck.
Well, I called the Housing Rights Committee first, told them my situation and basically got a “Oh, well what do you want us to do?” and I was like, uhh I want to make sure I’m not screwing myself over. They then told me they might have a counselor call me and emailed me information about breaking a lease. Big help there 
While I really really do appreciate the lega reference, I don’t want to get it to that level yet. On the advice of my mother, I called the landlady and let her know what was going on. She was more than a little surprised and asked me if I’d found anyone to take heir place. I told her I hadn’t and was actually hoping to just find someone to take over the lease completely. She said she’d think about it and that she’d call me back. So I’m going to get ready to get the leak fixed and post to Craigslist about the place and hope for the best. If she’s willing to do it that way, it would be wonderful. I’ve also decided that I’m moving to Oregon Not really on topic but I’ve had it up to here with the insane cost of living here.
I applaud your action and I’m very impressed that you didn’t just walk away from the problem.
I am going to urge you to, at least, call the atty. that Tabula Rosa recommended. She did go above and beyond in taking an interest in your welfare and, while the landlady may work w/ you, in the end she just wants her money. You really do need some objective legal advice.
Where do you plan to go in Oregon and do you have any connections there?
Seriously, it’s just a phone cal and you got a lot more to gain than you have to lose.
http://www.dexonline.com/servlet/ActionServlet?&siteid=CD42&pid=bresults&from=CD42&metro=checked&businessname=james+a.+michel&city=san+francisco&state=CA&SUBMIT=Find+It!
Agreed. A consultation would be a very good idea, probably free (if, as mentioned, less than an hour) (and the cost of a second hour won’t be much) and will help you reach an amicable settlement. Lawyers don’t just fight, you know?
Let me give you the landlord’s perspective in this since I’ve dealt with tenants in your situation before. My main consideration is in keeping the house rented and collecting rent. I would tell you that I will start to look for new tenants pronto and since you are contractually obligated to continue to rent the house, I would ask that you contribute to my cost of finding new tenants. As soon as I can find a new tenant, I’ll let you off the hook on your lease. Now, there’s a chance this search will take some time, but I will search in earnest for new tenants. I know the current SF rental market and it shouldn’t take more than a few months at most. I would put all this in writing and ask you to sign it along with your agreement to vacate by a certain date. You and your roommates are definitely legally obligated to pay the remaining amount of the lease, but I’m not going to pursue the money if I can find another tenant. Why don’t you speak to your landlord about this sort of agreement? I think that it’s a fair resolution to both parties.
Please note, Nivlic, that whether Aunt Flow is contractually obligated to continue to rent the house is one of the issues. I assume none of your properties has electrical problems, gas leaks, water leaks and a lack of heat.
I can understand your reluctance, OP, to get a lawyer involved… it does seem drastic, and if you’re a young woman, you may fear being seen as “mean” or whatever.
However, you should take the advice of the responders here seriously. Maybe you don’t clearly see the long-term implications of the situation facing you. Take it from us, please- what should be of utmost importance to you should not be either of your roomates feelings, but to yourself, your future, and the possible family you will have in the future.
We’re talking about your credit rating and possible court judgements against you. These days your credit rating can factor into even your work prospects and car insurance rates. Were you looking forward to owning things like a car at a decent price, or a home of your own one day? A court judgement against you for thousands of dollars and a lease-breaking could seriously damage you financially for many years, potentially.
You need to look out for yourself when it comes to matters such as these. There’s a time to be generous and understanding and spare others’ feelings, and then there’s a time to cover your ass. This is one of the latter.
Oops, sorry about the misspelling of your user name, nivlac. Twas late here at the time.