Friday, November 1, 2013

Serving a Notice To Vacate a Rental Home

Laws vary from state to state, but in California, Landlords must give 30 days' notice to vacate if the tenancy is for 1 year or less, or 60 days for a tenancy exceeding 1 year. Notice must be served properly, in one of the following 3 ways:


  1. By delivering a copy of the notice to the tenant personally.
  2. By leaving a copy of the notice with a member of the household of suitable age and discretion and mailing a copy to the residence.
  3. By posting a copy of the notice at an obvious point of entry (typically the front door) and mailing a copy to the residence.

Failure to properly notice your tenant may result in a 'defective notice' requiring you to re-serve the notice, or worse, the tenant is unaware of the notice which leads to more headaches and problems for both Landlord and Tenant.

At Cornerstone Property Management we make an effort to talk to the resident prior to serving the notice. This can soften the blow of the unfortunate news to the renter, answer any questions they may have, and reduce the confusion of the entire process.