LANDLORD-TENANT LAW
EVICTION NOTICES
PROTECT RIGHTS
ABOUT EVICTIONS
DEFEND YOUR
RIGHTS IN AN EVICTION CASE
The following is a description of the more common EVICTION NOTICES given by
a landlord before filing a lawsuit. If you get one of these, seek
legal advice before responding since what you say or write will be used
against you!
1. 30 DAY NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF TENANCY in writing is required to terminate a month to month periodic tenancy (residential or commercial), tenancy at will or after a foreclosure. The notice generally need not state a cause, but it cannot be retaliatory, discriminatory, or otherwise illegal. Different rules apply for Govt. subsidized housing (i.e. Section 8 or other programs).
The City of San Diego has a law which
requires GOOD CAUSE for a tenant to be evicted who is on a month to
month residential tenancy of at least TWO years and that
the good cause must be written in the notice.
The GOOD CAUSE law
2.
60 DAY NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF TENANCY is required in a periodic
residential tenancy if any TENANT or RESIDENT has been there for at least a year.
EXCEPTIONS TO THE 60 DAY NOTICE RULE
a. When the landlord is selling the unit to a person (i.e. not an entity), the notice is given within 120 days of opening an escrow, there have been no prior notices to quit (as per Civil Code 1946) and the buyer intends to live in the home for at least one year.
b. Tenants remaining in a dwelling after a foreclosure sale
c. Certain "Tenants at will" may not be included within this law.
d. Commercial tenancies
3. 90 DAY NOTICE of termination of tenancies for certain subsidized
residential month to month tenancies when good cause is not
needed.
4. 3 DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT notifies
the TENANT that rent is past due and to pay the rent in 3 days or vacate. If
the TENANT vacates within the 3 days, he/she is NOT relieved from the rent
obligation under the lease or rental agreement.
5. 3 DAY NOTICE TO CURE BREACH (sometimes called PERFORM COVENANT) OR QUIT.
This notifies a TENANT that he/she has 3 days to do or stop doing something
as per the rental agreement or the law. If the TENANT vacates within the 3
days, he/she is NOT relieved from the rent obligation under the lease or
rental agreement.
6. 3 DAY NOTICE TO QUIT is generally used in cases of nuisance, waste,
illegal activity, unlawful assignment or sublease or foreclosure. In these
cases, the LANDLORD is not giving the TENANT/occupant any opportunity to correct
anything or pay any rent. The LANDLORD is simply demanding that the TENANT
vacate the property within 3 days.
TENANTS MAY GIVE THEIR OWN NOTICE TO VACATE as
many days in advance as required by the tenancy (i.e. 30 days notice in a month to month, 7 days in a week to week tenancy etc.).
Such notices are not applicable with fixed term leases. If you want to
break your lease, get legal advice since serving
your own
30 day notice and then moving out DOES NOT terminate the lease and can cost you plenty! Also, use caution before
serving this notice since once given, it cannot be retracted unless the
landlord accepts the retraction.
COUNTING THE DAYS OF NOTICES
Notices may generally be served any day in the month. To count the
days of a notice, you begin on next day after service as the first day.
Weekends and holidays are counted but the last day of a notice may not
land on a weekend or holiday. If it does, then the "last day"
carries over to the next business day. For example, if a 3 day
notice to pay rent is served on a Thursday, we count Friday as the first
day Sunday is the third day. Since the last day cannot be a
Sunday, the "third day" is then Monday (giving the tenant
four days instead of three) to pay the rent. If that Monday was a
legal holiday, then Tuesday would then be the "third" day (giving the tenant
five days instead of three) to pay the rent.
After the expiration of an eviction notice, if you are still in possession of the rental unit, the landlord may file an UNLAWFUL DETAINER (eviction) lawsuit against you. You must act fast to protect and DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS!!
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California law for San Diego is applied in these pages. Such laws may or may not be applicable in other jurisdictions. The information provided herein is of a general nature and is not intended to be taken as specific legal advice. For legal advice in a particular situation, promptly consult with an appropriate attorney.