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EVICTION PROCESS UNDER RENT CONTROL:
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EVICTIONS
There are several kinds of notices that a landlord can serve: 1) a
3-day eviction notice (to perform/pay or quit), 2) a 30-day eviction
notice (by either tenant or Landlord to terminate tenancy), 3) 60 day
notice (for no-fault evictions per California Civil Code 1946.1), 4)
120 day notice (for evictions due to demolition or removal from rental
market per California Government Code Section 7060). If a tenant fails to
respond to any of the above notices, a landlord can bring a suit to evict a
tenant from the premises. The name of this suit is an UNLAWFUL DETAINER.
3-DAY NOTICE
If the tenant has failed to pay the rent on time or is short in any
amount, the landlord must send the tenant a written 3-day notice to
pay rent or quit the premises. This notice must state precisely the premises
in question and the amount of rent due. The notice must also present an
unequivocal alternative to the tenant, i.e., pay rent within three days or
leave.
In situations where some other obligation has been breached, e.g., keeping
pets, the landlord must specify the fault and permit its correction within 3
days. The landlord must serve this notice on the tenant before he can bring
suit (unless the tenant's default is of a kind that could not possibly be
corrected within the allowed time, for example, he has done something to the
building which cannot be repaired.)
A 3-Day Notice expires at midnight of the third day after service, provided
that the third day is a business day. Otherwise it expires at midnight of
the first business day following the third day after service. You do not
count the day of service. Therefore, a 3-Day Notice served on a Friday will
expire at midnight on the following Monday (unless that Monday is a holiday,
in which case the notice will expire at midnight on Tuesday). A 3-Day Notice
served on Wednesday will also expire at midnight on the following Monday,
because the third day may not be a Saturday or Sunday.
3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is not valid if served before the rent is
delinquent. Therefore, it may not be served on the due date, only after
the due date. If the due date does not fall on a business day, then the rent
is not due until the first business day following the due date and a 3-day
Notice to Pay Rent or Quit may not be served until the day after that.
If obligation demanded has not been corrected within three days after the
notice was served, the landlord can then file suit in court to have the
tenant evicted.
30-DAY NOTICE
Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1946 any
month/month tenancy can be terminated by a 30 day written
notice by either the tenant or the landlord (if the tenant has resided in
the unit for less than 1 year) and if the eviction is for owner occupation
for a condominium and given by the new owner no more than 30 days from
acquiring the property. (See additional requirements California Civil
code 1946.1.e)
Except for the City of Los Angeles, a landlord may serve
this notice and end the tenancy for almost any reason or no reason at all.
When the 30 days expires, the landlord may sue. A tenant should examine a
written rental agreement to see if a special clause permits the landlord to
shorten the time of this notice to 7 or 14 days.
60-DAY NOTICE
If, on the other hand, the tenant has occupied the
unit for at least 1 year and the landlord simply wants to end the
tenancy even though the tenant has not done anything illegal, a different
notice is required. This is called a "sixty-day notice". (Amended from 30
days by California Civil Code 1946.1 effective 1/1/02 to apply to no-fault
evictions). It must be in writing and state that as of 60 days from the
date the notice is served the tenancy will be at an end. In the City of Los
Angeles, a landlord must meet one of the twelve legal reasons for eviction
pursuant to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Section 151.09. (See above)
Also, in the City of Los Angeles, no written agreement may contain
provisions that are in violation of the RSO.
Generally, a lease relationship cannot be ended by a
30-Day Notice or 60-Day Notice before the expiration date of the lease. A
tenant, though, may be given a 30 or 60 Day Notice if he "holds over" after
lease has expired.
120-DAY NOTICE
A landlord evicting for the purpose of demolition or
removing the unit from the rental market must follow the procedures as
indicated in Ordinance 173,868 (Eff. 4/5/2001). Obtain the proper
Landlord Declaration Form from the Department.Record with the County
Recorder the Non-Confidential Memorandum and once recorded submit it along
with the landlord declaration with three copies of the same. Within 5 days
of submitting the completed Landlord Declaration Form and the recorded
Non-Confidential Memorandum the landlord shall give the tenants 120 day
notice and include additional information as mandated in Ordinance 173,868.
Tenants who are at least 62 years of age or disabled and who have lived in
the accommodations for at least one year prior to submitting the Landlord
Declaration Form may request an extension of up to 1 year. (See Ordinance
173,868).
UNLAWFUL DETAINER
An Unlawful Detainer is the legal name of the suit a
landlord brings to evict a tenant from the premises. There are several
possible grounds for such an eviction action. One is that the tenant has
failed to abide by some obligation in his lease or rental agreement with the
landlord, for example, by creating a nuisance, damaging the premises, or
keeping pets. Another is that the tenant has failed to pay the rent on time.
A third possibility arises when the tenant remains on the premises after
having been given lawful notice to terminate the tenancy.
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