A legal eviction in California can only be made for a number of legally acceptable reasons. This means that landlords must use the correct eviction notice type for their circumstances and type of residential lease agreement or rental contract.
Each kind of eviction notice differs depending on how much time it gives tenants to legally leave the property and can vary on whether it allows the residents of your property to cure an issue or not.
If however, the property is rent-controlled, there are special rules that need to be followed. Be aware that you can only evict someone from these kinds of rental units for specific reasons under California law. If your property is under rent-control you are advised to contact your local housing association before beginning eviction proceedings to understand the requirements.
3-Day Notice to Quit
A 3-Day Notice to Quit in California (§ 1161(4)) is one of the most common types of notice used in the state. Landlords may issue this kind of warning to their tenants under the following circumstances:
- Following the non-payment of rent
- For non-compliance with the lease regarding a curable issue
- In cases of non-compliance with the lease for an irreparable issue
In all these cases, the tenant will be given 3 days in order to comply with the notice. In most circumstances, they will be given the opportunity to cure the issues that led to the order being issued.
However, they can also be used to give unconditional notice to quit when severe breaches of the lease have been committed. For example, this might be used in the event of illegal activity being carried out on the premises.
14-Day Notice to Quit
14-Day Notices to Quit can only be used in a situation where the tenant has suffered from a case of stalking or domestic violence. This allows the tenant in question to terminate the lease without penalty and quit the property within 14 days. They will still be responsible for the back rent of this two week period but will be released from all other obligations under the legal contract.
30-Day Notice to Quit
When a landlord wishes to end a periodic tenancy or a lease holdover that has lasted under 1 year they must use a 30-Day Notice to Quit to do so. This can be done for any reason as long as the property isn’t leased under rent-control rules (§ 1946).
60-Day Notice to Quit
When landlords wish to end periodic tenancies or to evict lease holdovers of tenants who have been residing in the property for over 1 year a 60-Day Notice to Quit is required. This lets the landlord give the tenant advance notice of their decision to evict (§ 1946.1).