30-Day Notice to Vacate – What Can I Do?
Did you receive a 30-Day Notice to Vacate or a 60-Day Notice to Vacate? Are you upset because (1) you don’t want to move, (2) you cannot afford to move right now, (3) you don’t have the time to look for a new place, and (4) you don’t have time to find, borrow, or rent a truck or movers?
Call Legal Services Center (855) 775-5400. We can help you avoid moving or delay moving – so you have more time to stay in the property where you are now, save money for 1st month’s rent and security deposit for a new place, and DELAY MOVING so you have sufficient time to find that new place on your schedule and calendar – NOT the landlord’s fast-paced calendar!
When Can a Landlord Terminate a Tenancy?
In California, a landlord can terminate (end) a month-to-month tenancy very easily. All the landlord has to do is serve the tenant a 30-Day Notice or 60-Day Notice either 30-days or 60-days in advance (in person, by mail, taped to door, etc.).
Tenants are often surprised to learn – that even if the tenant has not violated their rental agreement and have never been late paying rent, a landlord can request the tenant to move out at any time assuming the tenancy is month-to-month. That is why it is sometimes wise for a tenant to re-negotiate a lease period, if their original 12-month fixed term lease is coming to an end whereby the tenancy automatically defaults to a month-to-month situation.
Why a 30-Day Notice — vs. — a 60-Day Notice?
Generally speaking, California law specifies – that if the tenant has a month-to-month tenancy, a landlord can give a 30-Day Notice to any tenant or resident who has lived in the rental unit less than one year.
However, if the tenant has lived in the rental unit for longer than one year, the landlord must extend the advanced notice to a 60-Day Notice. There are many more variations that we can explain to you or you can research the California laws on giving proper notice.
Exceptions to 30-Day Notices and 60-Day Notices
If you are renting in a Los Angeles Rent Control area, or if you are a tenant who participates in the Section 8 housing voucher program, chances are that your landlord cannot simply give you a 30-Day Notice or a 60-Day Notice to Vacate.
Is There Any Way Legal Services Center can Help Me?
If your landlord can legally “ask you to move,” chances are he or she has a reason. For example, if you have been consistently late paying your rent; if you have loud parties or noisy guests over all the time; if you are known for playing music too loudly, these are “tenant behaviors” than can be changed. However, you might need someone –a 3rd party– to go to bat for you; to reassure your landlord that in the future, you will pay rent on time, never have any more parties, or guests over, or keep the music volume turned way down.
Call us at (855) 775-5400. Maybe we can help you mend your landlord-tenant relationship.
If we cannot negotiate your continued tenancy, and are likely to be evicted – because you know:
- You don’t have the money to move, or
- You simply cannot possibly move in the short time period…
…then YES, we can help you DELAY EVICTION which can buy you additional weeks or sometimes months, so that you can continue to stay where you are, even if you are no longer paying rent.
ABSOLUTELY call us at (855) 775-5400 – and we can help you DELAY EVICTION!
3-Day Notice Can Be Used INSTEAD of a 30/60 Day Notice!
A 30-Day Notice or 60-Day Notice to Vacate is a legal notice – given to a renter who is currently in good standing with the rental agreement. Unfortunately, for many tenants struggling to make rent or with other issues, a landlord can legally terminate a tenancy by giving ONLY a 3-Day Notice. This would be a 3-Day Advance Written Notice presented to the tenant if the tenant has done any of the following:
- Failure to pay the rent
- Violated any provision of the rental/lease agreement
- Materially damaged the rental property (i.e. “committed waste”)
- Substantially interfered with other tenants (i.e. “committed a nuisance”)
- Committed domestic violence or sexual assault against, or stalked another tenant or subtenant
- Used the rental property for unlawful purposes
- Engaged in drug dealing
- Unlawfully used, cultivated, imported, or manufactured illegal drugs
- Used the rental property to conduct dogfighting or cockfighting
- Unlawful conduct involving weapons or ammunition
What Happens if I Don’t Move Out in the Specified Time?
If the landlord is not in violation of the law, and is unwilling to reconsider your staying in the property and refuses to withdraw the 30-day notice or 60-day notice, you will have to move out at the end of the 30-day, or 60-day period (or as short as 3-days). Three day notices can be used by the landlord when you are behind on rent or breaking the terms of your rental agreement. That said, many tenants are surprised to learn that 30-day notices and 60-day notices do not have to state the landlord’s reason for ending the tenancy. No matter what notice you received, if you fail to move out, the landlord will likely file an Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit to use the power of the Court and the Sheriff to evict you.
If (or when) you receive a legal summons, an Eviction Lawsuit known as an Unlawful Detainer Action, we can help you!
How We Can Help You…
STOP EVICTION
- We can determine if the landlord is in the right, or if he or she messed up
- If the landlord didn’t do everything just right, we can likely STOP EVICTION
- If the landlord violated your rights as a tenant we can likely STOP EVICTION
DELAY EVICTION
If the notice(s) and the Unlawful Detainer action was done correctly, we can:
- Write the required legal response that MUST be drafted and filed with the court in 5 calendar days
- You can take the Unlawful Detainer Answer to the court, or we can do it for you
- If you want to DELAY EVICTION to buy some addition time to save money, look for a new place, we can assist you
- If tou want to FIGHT the EVICTION and need a lawyer to appear in court at the hearing for you, we can assist you
Help is as close as a PHONE CALL to (855) 775-5400. We can help you DELAY EVICTION which can buy you additional weeks or sometimes months, so that you can continue to stay where you are, even if you are no longer paying rent.
If you are at work, lacking privacy, or it is the middle of the night — ask us to call you back at your “window of opportunity” using the STOP MY EVICTION form to the right –or below– if you are visiting our website on a smartphone.
At Legal Service Center – we are Tenant Rights avocates ready and able to help you at once!
Call Us at (855) 775-5400
