EVICTION Q & A’S

This notice notifies the tenant of the exact amount of rent that is past due at the time of service, and allows the tenant 3-day to pay the full rent or to vacate before you start the eviction court case. If the tenant chooses to vacate the property within the three days, the owner can still file a small claims complaint against the tenant for the unpaid rent.

After the three-days have expired without payment or notification that the tenant has moved out, the process for an unlawful detainer (eviction) can begin. Before the Unlawful Detainer complaint can be filed, it is imperative that proper notice was given to the tenant.

Use this Notice when you think your tenant violated the lease and the problem can be fixed (the “fixing” is also called perform covenants). 

For example, if the tenant has moved in a pet when the lease says “no pets,” or is bothering neighbors with loud noise, or doing something else that violates the lease. The Notice must ask the tenant to fix the problem within 3 days or move out. The 3 days doesn’t count Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays.

This notice is used to give a tenant on a month-to-month agreement that the owner/landlord wishes to regain possession of the property after the 30 days of the notice have expired.

A 30-day Notice to Quit (move out) to end a month-to-month tenancy is used if your tenant has been renting for less than 1 year.  A 60-day Notice to Quit is used if your tenant has been renting for 1 year or more

A 3-day notice to quit is proper when the tenant breaches their lease or rental agreement for extreme / serious violations. Serious problems include: (1) causing or a allowing a nuisance on the property, (2) engaging in illegal activities at the rental, (3) negatively affecting other people’s health or safety, (4) causing major damage to the home that reduces the home’s value, or (5) moving in subtenants without your permission when the agreement does not permit it.

A lease is a contract for a given length of time and states the landlord will lease the property to a tenant under certain terms. But a rental agreement stipulates a payment amount made periodically by a tenant to occupy the premises. Both leases and rental agreements spell out the rent amount, so they are essentially that same.

As stated, a lease generally runs from six months to 3 years on residential properties, but the parties can negotiate any period of time within the law for a lease as long as it doesn’t exceed 99 years. After the lease expires, the terms can be month to month. Rental agreements are just for the short term and, like most leases, specify monthly payment of rent.

No. In California, if a tenant has been in the premises for a year or more, they must be given a 60 day notice of the intent to terminate the tenancy. In San Diego, if a tenant has been in the premises for more than two years, they must be given a 60 days notice of the intent to terminate the tenancy PLUS “just cause” for the termination, unless certain exceptions apply.

The squatter must be served with a 30-Day Notice to Terminate Tenancy, they are a tenant at will. If they don’t comply with the notice, you will have to start an Unlawful Detainer against them.

A 90-day Notice to Quit is the notice required. A landlord must have a legal reason to ask the tenant to move. The notice must also include: (1) the date the tenancy will. beterminated, (2). detailed reason(s) for the eviction, (3) a notice that if the tenant doesn’t move within 90 days, the owner can start the eviction, (4) the tenant is notified he or she has 10 days to talk about the notice with you (which beings when. thenotice is properly served), (5) information that people with disabilities have the right to request accommodations to participate in the hearing process and (6) a statement on how to pick up any properly left behind.

A Notice is almost always required before starting an unlawful detainer court case. But there are a few exceptions:

• Fixed-term leases: If your tenant has a lease for a fixed period of time, the lease is up and you don’t extend it, you can start a court case without giving notice first. But you can’t take any rent after the lease runs out or you’ll be creating a month-to-month tenancy, which requires notice to end.
• Your tenant gives you notice to end the lease: If your tenant gives you notice they’ll be moving out, but they don’t, then you can start a court case right away.
• Your tenant works for you and lives on the property as part of their job: You can start a court case without notice as soon as your tenant doesn’t work for you anymore.

California law permits

a landlord, the landlord’s agent, or anyone over 18 to serve a 3-Day Notice, 30-Day Notice or 60-Day Notice on the tenant in one of three ways:

1. by personal service (you are personally handed the Notice);
2. by substituted service (the Notice is left with a person over the age of 18 at your home or work and a copy is mailed to your rental unit’s address); or
3. by posting and mailing (the Notice is tacked to the entrance of the rental unit and a copy is mailed to your rental unit’s address).

It depends. The process of eviction can vary in terms of time frame. Even after a landlord has posted an eviction notice, tenants generally have an opportunity to fix whatever issue motivated the eviction notice, e.g. late rent, unacceptable pets, etc. If the tenant is unable to remedy the issue, they may still have a few weeks to move out before the eviction process escalates.

If an eviction case goes to court and a judge rules that the eviction will stand, the tenant may have to move out immediately after the court case, but it’s more common that they’ll have a couple weeks following the ruling to get their affairs in order.

Generally, yes, although it may not always the best course of action for tenants. If a judge rules that an eviction is justified, and the tenant disagrees with the judge’s ruling, the tenant can submit a motion for reconsideration. This motion provides the judge with an opportunity to reconsider their decision. If the tenant still doesn’t get the decision they want, they can then submit an appeal.

The key point is that once an appeal has been submitted, judges no longer have the option of reconsideration, whereas an appeal can follow a motion for reconsideration. Because of this, it is usually in a tenant’s best interest to submit a motion for reconsideration before moving toward an appeal.

In some cases. A landlord can give a tenant more than 1 notice at the same time. For example, if the tenant is always late with the rent, a landlord can serve a “3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit” and a “30-Day Notice to Quit” at the same time. If the tenant does not pay the rent within 3 days of receiving the 3-day period, he or she must still move out in 30 days. If the tenant does not move out after the 30 days, then the landlord has to file an unlawful detainer case.