A California eviction notice form is a legal demand for a tenant to comply with the terms of the rental agreement or else move out of the premises. California landlords may deliver an eviction notice because of unpaid rent, lease violations, or illegal activity on the rental property.
Types of California Eviction Notice Forms
| Notice Form | Grounds | Curable? |
| 3 Day Notice To Quit | Unpaid Rent | Yes |
| 3 Day Notice To Perform Covenants or Vacate | Lease Violation | Yes |
| 3 Day Notice To Vacate | Illegal Activity | No |
| 30 Day Notice To Vacate | Tenancy of Less than 1 Year | No |
| 60 Day Notice To Vacate | Tenancy of 1 Year or More | No |
| Lease Termination No Fault Just Cause | No Fault Just Cause | No |
California 3 Day Notice To Quit
A California 3 Day Notice To Quit evicts a tenant for nonpayment of rent. In California, a landlord can file this notice the day after rent is due, with no grace period for the tenant. The tenant must pay all past due rent or else move out within three (3) judicial days (not counting weekends or court holidays).
California 3 Day Notice To Perform Covenants or Vacate
A California 3 Day Notice To Perform Covenants or Vacate demands correction of a lease violation that is “curable,” i.e., the tenant may get a chance to fix the situation rather than be evicted. A curable lease violation might include failure to maintain health and safety on the rental property, interfering with the quiet enjoyment of neighbors, or refusal to allow lawful entry by the landlord.
The tenant must take appropriate corrective action or else move out within three (3) judicial days (not counting weekends or court holidays) of receiving notice.
California 3 Day Notice To Vacate
A California 3 Day Notice To Vacate evicts a tenant for illegal activity on the premises, such as possession of illegal drugs or threatening the health and safety of other persons. The tenant is not allowed an opportunity to take corrective action, and must move out within three (3) judicial days (i.e., not counting weekends or court holidays) of receiving notice.
California 30 Day Notice To Vacate
A California 30 Day Notice To Vacate terminates any tenancy of less than one (1) year, regardless of rent payment frequency, as well as an expired lease, a situation with no lease, and properties under contract for sale which meet the state legal requirements. Tenants may also use this form as notice of non-renewal for a lease. The non-terminating party must receive notice at least thirty (30) days before the date of termination.
California 60 Day Notice To Vacate
A California 60 Day Notice To Vacate terminates an expired lease, or a tenancy of one (1) year or more which has met the standards for legal exemption under California law. The tenant must receive notice at least sixty (60) calendar days before the date of termination.
California Lease Termination for No Fault Just Cause
A California Lease Termination for No Fault Just Cause terminates a tenancy of one (1) year or more when the landlord has a just cause for doing so in accordance with the Tenant Protection Act of 2019. The tenant must receive notice at least sixty (60) calendar days before the date of termination.
How To Write an Eviction Notice in California
To help ensure the legal compliance of an eviction notice:
- Use the tenant’s full name and address
- Specify the lease violation as well as any balance due
- Specify the date of termination
- Print name and sign the notice, including the landlord’s address of record
- Note the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Calculate Expiration Date in California
The “clock” for an eviction notice period starts “ticking” the day after the notice gets delivered (served). For example, to give at least 30 days of notice and begin court action as of June 30th, delivery of the eviction notice must be no later than May 31st.
In most jurisdictions, if the last day of a notice period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the notice period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. This is called the “next judicial day;” in other words, the next day a courthouse is open.
How To Serve an Eviction Notice in California
California landlords may deliver an initial written eviction notice through any of the following methods:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- If the tenant is absent from the residence and the tenant’s usual place of business: Hand delivery to a person of suitable age at either the residence or usual place of business, PLUS delivery by mail to the tenant’s residence
- If all forms of hand delivery fail: Posting the notice to a conspicuous place on the property, PLUS delivery by mail to the property, addressed to the tenant, PLUS (if possible) handing the notice to a person residing on the property
California considers service by mail to take place five (5) calendar days after mailing.
Sources
- 1 Housing Authority of the City of Alameda, Eviction Protection Kit at p. 2 (created Jul. 12, 2024)
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Properties and tenancies that are covered under the CARES ACT must be provided 30 days’ notice to vacate for non-payment of rent.
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Caution: There is not yet any statewide judicial guidance in California regarding the CARES Act requirements. As noted above, the City of Alameda officially states a 30-day notice is required for nonpayment of rent or other fees. An Alameda court case from June 2024 confirms this. While not an official resource, California Association of Realtors guidance from May 2023 agrees that the law appears to require a 30-day notice to evict for nonpayment of rent or other fees, in properties covered by the CARES Act.
Source Link - 2 CA Civ Pro Code § 1161
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When the tenant continues in possession, in person or by subtenant, after a neglect or failure to perform other conditions or covenants of the lease or agreement under which the property is held, including any covenant not to assign or sublet, than the one for the payment of rent, and three days’ notice, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and other judicial holidays, in writing, requiring the performance of those conditions or covenants, or the possession of the property, shall have been served upon the tenant, and if there is a subtenant in actual occupation of the premises, also, upon the subtenant. Within three days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and other judicial holidays, after the service of the notice, the tenant, or any subtenant in actual occupation of the premises, or any mortgagee of the term, or other person interested in its continuance, may perform the conditions or covenants of the lease or pay the stipulated rent, as the case may be, and thereby save the lease from forfeiture; provided, if the conditions and covenants of the lease, violated by the lessee, cannot afterward be performed, then no notice, as last prescribed herein, need be given to the lessee or the subtenant, demanding the performance of the violated conditions or covenants of the lease.
Source Link - 3 Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1162
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The notices required by Sections 1161 and 1161a may be served by any of the following methods:
(1) By delivering a copy to the tenant personally.
(2) If he or she is absent from his or her place of residence, and from his or her usual place of business, by leaving a copy with some person of suitable age and discretion at either place, and sending a copy through the mail addressed to the tenant at his or her place of residence.
(3) If such place of residence and business cannot be ascertained, or a person of suitable age or discretion there can not be found, then by affixing a copy in a conspicuous place on the property, and also delivering a copy to a person there residing, if such person can be found; and also sending a copy through the mail addressed to the tenant at the place where the property is situated. Service upon a subtenant may be made in the same manner.
Source Link - 4 Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1013(a)
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Source Link
Service is complete at the time of the deposit, but any period of notice and any right or duty to do any act or make any response within any period or on a date certain after service of the document, which time period or date is prescribed by statute or rule of court, shall be extended five calendar days, upon service by mail, if the place of address and the place of mailing is within the State of California, 10 calendar days if either the place of mailing or the place of address is outside the State of California but within the United States, 12 calendar days if the place of address is the Secretary of State’s address confidentiality program (Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section 6205) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), and 20 calendar days if either the place of mailing or the place of address is outside the United States, but the extension shall not apply to extend the time for filing notice of intention to move for new trial, notice of intention to move to vacate judgment pursuant to Section 663a, or notice of appeal. This extension applies in the absence of a specific exception provided for by this section or other statute or rule of court.
