Lease Termination Letter for California landlords
End lease agreement with termination date and move-out instructions Written to CA landlord-tenant law, with the notice period counted for you.
- 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 lease termination letter.
- Not renewing lease at end of term
- Early termination by agreement
- Documenting lease end date
- Move-out procedure clarity
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.
- How much notice before the lease ends?
- A fixed-term lease usually ends on its own date, but many leases and several states require notice of non-renewal anyway, commonly around 30 days in CA. Read the lease first, because its notice clause often exceeds the statutory minimum.
- Can I terminate a lease early?
- Only for a cause set out in the lease or by statute, such as a material breach. Otherwise a fixed-term lease binds you as much as it binds the tenant. Buying the tenant out with a written agreement is often cheaper than litigating the point.
- What happens to the security deposit?
- California requires it back within 21 days of the tenancy ending, with an itemised statement for anything you withhold. The most you can hold in CA is 2 months unfurnished, 3 months furnished.
- Do I need a reason not to renew?
- Generally no under California law, unless a local just-cause ordinance applies. The reason still cannot be retaliatory or discriminatory, and non-renewal timed close to a complaint or repair request invites exactly that inference.
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 lease termination letter.
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.