Evictions

3/30 Days Notice
Estates at Will (789)

• A tenancy may be terminated by a landlord by no less than 30 days and in some cases 60 days (outside of Berkeley or other cities that do not have Just Cause Ordinances).
• 30-day notice is served for landlord moving in or end of month-to-month tenancy.
• 3-day notice is served to tenant for non-payment of rent or breach of lease.
• If a tenant does not take proper action after receiving a 3/30 day notice (pay owed rent, move out, etc.), a landlord may file an unlawful detainer lawsuit.

Responses to an unlawful detainer lawsuit:

1. Motion to Quash – Improperly served or improper form (notice must be by mail)
2. Demurrer – No legal basis for eviction
3. Answer – Response to landlord’s claims

Retaliatory evictions are prohibited (CC 1942.5)

• Tenant enjoys a rebuttal presumption of retaliation if formal complain against the landlord pertaining to the unit has been filed with a government agency within 180 days of the eviction notice.

Bottom line, clients have

• AT LEAST 33 days (before actual eviction) if you receive a 3-day notice
• AT LEAST 60 days (before actual eviction) if you receive a 30-day notice

Eviction and Rent Increase Limits

• Civil Code 1942.4 now provides that a landlord may not demand rent, increase rent, or issue a three-day notice to “pay or quit” if all of the following are true:

1. The unit has serious violations that breach habitability standards
2. The City has cited the violations
3. The violations are not repaired within 35 days of the citation
4. The tenant did not cause the code violations or block their corrections

Additional Documents:

• Overview of the Eviction Process
• Chart of the Eviction Process
• ”Good Cause” and Other Eviction Laws
• ”Good Cause” and Who Qualifies
• Illegal Self-Help Evictions
• Foreclosure Evictions and the Ellis Act
• Berkeley Measure Y
• Owner/Relative Occupancy Evictions In Berkeley