Landlord Tenant Law
LANDLORD TENANT LAW
The following rules apply to residential tenancies. Commercial tenancies have different rules.
30 DAY NOTICE.
A 30 Day Notice is required to terminate a tenancy when the tenant has occupied the premises for 12 months or less. See California Civil Code section 1946.
The 30 Day Notice expires 30 days after the service date. The service date does not count towards calculating 30 days and should be considered as day “zero.”
Each Tenant (a) identified in the lease and (b) each person that Landlord knows resides at the Property should be served Notice separately.
If expiration of the 30 Day Period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal Holiday, then Tenant is not required to be out until end of the next business day.
60 DAY NOTICE.
A 60 Day Notice is required to terminate a tenancy when the tenant has occupied the premises for more than 12 months. See California Civil Code section 1946.1.
The 60 Day Notice expires 60 days after the service date. The service date does not count towards calculating 60 days and should be considered as day “zero.”
Each Tenant (a) identified in the lease and (b) each person that Landlord knows resides at the Property should be served Notice separately.
If expiration of the 60 Day Period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal Holiday, then Tenant is not required to be out until end of the next business day.
NO NOTICE REQUIRES AT EXPIRATION OF WRITTEN LEASE.
There is no 30 Day or 60 Day Notice required to evict a Tenant at expiration of a written lease. If Tenant’s 12 month written lease expires on October 31, then Landlord can start an eviction on November 1″ without any Notices.
If the Landlords accepts rent after expiration of a written lease, then a new Month-to-Month tenancy is created that will require either a 30 Day or 60 Day Notice to terminate.
Rent Control Laws have special rules that override these standard rules. NEW RULES: 3 DAY NOTICE TO PAY OR QUIT.
In the past, a 3 Day Notice served on Friday would expire Monday. Saturdays, Sundays and legal Holidays counted towards calculation of 3 days. A Landlord could then start an eviction on Tuesday morning.
Effective January 1, 2019, Saturdays, Sundays and legal Holidays no longer count towards calculating 3 Day Notices.
By example, if you serve a 3 Day Notice to Pay or Quit on Friday, Saturday and Sunday no longer count, and the 3 Day Notice would not expire until the following Thursday.
PROPER SERVICE OF NOTICE.
A Judge will dismiss the eviction if service is improper or irregular. There are three options for service of 30 and 60 Day Notices, and Landlords must strictly comply:
1. Personal delivery to the Tenant; or
2. If Tenant cannot be personally served, then (a) personal service to anyone over 18 years old at the residence and (b) copy sent by standard U.S. mail to Tenant’s residence (certified mail not required); or
3. It Tenant cannot be personally served, then (a) posted in conspicuous place at the property and (b) copy sent by standard U.S. mail to Tenant’s residence (certified mail not required).
At least one case has held that service by Certified Mail is not sufficient service of either a 30 Day or 60 Day Notice. If you elect to serve a 30 or 60 Day Notice by Certified Mail, then you must also serve by standard U.S. mail. See Liebovich v. Shahrokhkhany (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 511, 514-515.
Landlords must strictly comply with these service rules or the Judge will deny the eviction.
PAYMENT OF RENT.
Tenant must continue to pay rent after being served a 30 Day or 60 Day Notice. If Tenant stops paying rent after receiving either a 30 Day or 60 Day Notice, then Landlord can immediately serve a 3 Day Notice to Pay or Quit and evict the Tenant if Tenant fails to pay the rent during the 3 Day Notice Period.
SALE OF PROPERTY BY LANDLORD.
If the Landlord has contracted to sell the Property to someone who intends to occupy the Property for at least a year, the Landlord only needs to give Tenant a 30 Day Notice (not a 60 Day Notice) regardless of how long the Tenant has been at the Property.
In order to qualify, the Landlord must satisfy the following conditions:
1. Property must be sold using a licensed California Broker
2. Property must be in escrow at a licensed Escrow Company
3. Landlord must give Tenant a 30 Day Notice within 120 days after opening escrow.
This exception only applies when Landlord has sold the property to someone who intends to occupy it for at least a year.
