30-Day Notice to Vacate for California landlords
30-day termination notice for month-to-month tenancies Written to CA landlord-tenant law, with the notice period counted for you.
California requirement: 30-Day Notice
California requires 30 days for tenants under 1 year, 60 days for 1+ year tenants.
- Pay or quit
- 3 days
- Month-to-month
- 30 days
- Tenant over 1 year
- 60 days
- Rent increase notice
- 30 days
- Max deposit
- 2 months unfurnished, 3 months furnished
- Deposit return
- 21 days
When you need a 30-day notice to vacate.
- Want to end month-to-month tenancy
- Selling property and need tenant out
- Moving family into rental
- Tenant is problematic but not evictable
California rules that apply here.
Rent control applies in parts of California. Where a local ordinance is stricter than state law, the local rule governs.
- 3-day notice for nonpayment
- 60-day notice for tenants over 1 year
- Statewide rent cap (AB 1482): 5% + CPI or 10% max
- Just cause eviction required for covered properties
Rent control areas
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley, Santa Monica, West Hollywood
What landlords ask about this in California.
- Do I need a reason to end a month-to-month tenancy?
- Under California law, generally no. But a growing number of cities require just cause, and rent-controlled areas almost always do. Retaliation and discrimination are prohibited reasons everywhere, whatever the local rule says.
- Can the tenant leave before the notice period ends?
- Yes. The notice sets the date by which they must be out, not a date they must stay until. Rent is still owed for the days they actually occupy the unit unless you agree otherwise in writing.
- What if the tenant doesn’t leave when the notice expires?
- The tenancy has ended but you still cannot remove them yourself. File for eviction and let the court order it. Serving the 30-day notice correctly in CA is what makes that filing hold up.
- Is this enough notice in California?
- California requires 30 days to end a month-to-month tenancy. Longer tenancies, rent-controlled units and certain cities require more. If the tenant has been there over a year, check the long-term rule before you serve.
This is general information about California landlord-tenant law, not legal advice. Local ordinances can be stricter than the state rule, and if a dispute is already underway it is worth an hour of a lawyer’s time.
Related CA forms
This form in other states
The document is the same; the notice period is not. Pick the state the property is in, not the one you live in.
Generate your California 30-day notice to vacate.
Free, no account, and dated against CA rules. Create an account only when you want the tenant details reused next month and the copies kept.