California Forms

A Guide to Residential Tenants’ and Landlords’ Rights and Responsibilities

Before we delve into the eviction notice topic, we recommend you familiarize yourself with “A Guide to Residential Tenants’ and Landlords’ Rights and Responsibilities,” simply called the Landlord-Tenant Handbook. In this book, you will find many useful details about the relationship between lessors and lessees in California, lease contracts, and eviction notices.

In particular, the handbook contains an extensive and informative chapter called “Terminations and Evictions.” There, you can read about the eviction procedure in California, the types of eviction notices allowed in the state, and reasons for a lessor to ask a renter to move out.

Types of Notices in California

Because the reasons to evict a lessee may vary, a lessor has different options of eviction notice templates to select from. Among these options are the following:

  • Notice to Pay or Quit (3-day)

Such a is given to a lessee if they have not paid the rent in time for some reason. After receiving this document, the lessee has three days to fulfill their obligations and pay. If the payment does not occur within the stated period, the lessee must leave.

  • Notice to Comply or Quit (3-day)

This form is sent to a renter if they have violated the lease contract’s conditions in any way (except the non-payment of rent). If the lessee’s action can be fixed, the lessee has three days to do so. If not, the renter should move out.

  • Lease Termination Notice (30-day)

Lastly, the termination notice is delivered to a renter if the property owner wishes to vacate the premises for their own purposes and the renter has nothing to do with it. After the notice is given to the renter, they have 30 days to find a new place and leave if the renting period is less than a year (if more than a year, a lessee shall have 60 days to find a new place to live).

Curable vs. Incurable Violations

The lessee’s violation of the lease agreements can be curable or incurable. The difference between these two is quite simple. A violation is considered curable if a renter can fix the situation bothering the property owner. For instance, if the owner has arrived at the property for some reason and seen that it needs to be cleaned immediately and all the rooms are messy.

An incurable violation is much more problematic. It cannot be “cured” (or fixed) by the renter. One solid example of such violations is an illegal action on the premises. Here is another example: a property owner might be exhausted and send an “incurable violation” notice if a renter is annoying to neighbors and they keep complaining.

All the info mentioned above works only if the lease agreement signed between a lessor and lessee contains all the conditions that concern both parties.

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California Laws Regarding Eviction

Eviction laws may vary from state to state, so we shall also provide you with the current California legislature regarding the topic.

First, you can use the Landlord-Tenant Handbook to find out some current provisions, as we have stated above. Also, the main laws and regulations are placed in the California Civil Code (CIV) and California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP).

As stated in the California CCP (section 1161(2)), if the lessee fails to pay the rent on time, the lessor may deliver a notice to quit and give the lessee three days to fix the situation. If the payment fails after the notice is issued and three days pass, the lessor can legally evict the lessee.

The same period of three days applies by law if the lessee has made a violation that can be considered curable as per the lease agreement and the lessor. The Code of Civil Procedure, section 1161(3), contains this rule.

As we have already mentioned above, if the lessor wants to empty the owned property and asks the lessee to move out, the lessee has either 30 or 60 days to find a new place to stay. The term in which the lessee should move out depends on the renting period (less or more than one year). This provision is described in the California Civil Code, section 1946.1.

Legal peculiarities that relate to eviction lawsuits in California are included in the California CCP, Part 3, Title 3, Chapter 4, sections from 1159 to 1179a.

Also, do not forget about the Landlord-Tenant Handbook, which becomes extremely handy if you are an estate owner who has a lessee or two and thinks of evicting them for some violations. The handbook has many pages dedicated to the eviction topic and tells more details about the possible reasons for eviction.

As stated in the handbook, you, as a landlord, have the full right to give a 3-day eviction notice to your lessee if they:

  • Do not pay the rent on the agreed day
  • Violate any condition of the lease contract
  • Damage the leased property
  • Brought other lessees to the property
  • Commit a crime on the premises or use the property for any unlawful purposes (including anything related to drugs and drug dealing)
  • Use the premises to conduct dogfighting or cockfighting
  • Behave unlawfully using weapons or ammunition