Under what conditions can my landlord break my fixed term lease?

To answer that question, one must first read the written lease agreement between you and your grandfather. Since I don't have the benefit of access to that document, it is not possible to provide any information about "cause" under the terms of the lease to terminate it. Outside of the lease, however, there is a provision in California law under which even a term lease can be terminated if the property is sold AND the buyer intends to occupy it as their principal residence. I don't have the citation to the Civil Code handy, so you may wish to do a little research. I am not aware of any law that indicates that this does not apply if the property is sold to a relative. You also need to ask the question here whether or not it is actually being "sold" or just transferred. Contact a local tenant's rights attorney to review the lease and determine if the exception for a sale is valid in this case. David L. Gibbs, Esq.The Gibbs Law Firm, APCSan Clemente, Californiagibbslaw.com  *Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. Further, information you provide to the Firm through this website is not confidential - it is available publicly to anyone visiting this website. The Firm shall have no obligation to keep the information you provide herein confidential in any context. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence. As required by 11 U.S.C. §528, we must now disclose that, "We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. Assistance we provide with respect to Debt Relief may involve bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."