Eviction & Lease Termination in California

State of Calif ornia CIVIL CODE Section 1946 1946. (a)   A hiring of real property , for a term not specified by the parties, is deemed to be rene wed as stated in Section 1945, at the end of the term implied by la w unless one of the parties gi ves written notice to the other of that party’ s intention to terminate the same, at least as long before the e xpiration thereof as the term of the hiring itself, not e xceeding 30 days; pro vided, ho wever, that as to tenancies from month to month either of the parties may terminate the same by gi ving at least 30 days’ written notice thereof at an y time and the rent shall be due and payable to and including the date of termination. It shall be competent for the parties to pro vide by an agreement at the time the tenanc y is created that a notice of the intention to terminate the same may be gi ven at an y time not less than se ven days before the e xpiration of the term thereof. The notice herein required shall be gi ven in the manner prescribed in Section 1162 of the Code of Ci vil Procedure or by sending a cop y by certified or re gistered mail addressed to the other party . In addition, the lessee may gi ve the notice by sending a copy by certified or re gistered mail addressed to the agent of the lessor to whom the lessee has paid the rent for the month prior to the date of the notice or by deli vering a cop y to the agent personally . The notice gi ven by the lessor shall also contain, in substantially the same form, the follo wing: “State la w permits former tenants to reclaim abandoned personal property left at the former address of the tenant, subject to certain conditions. You may or may not be able to reclaim property without incurring additional costs, depending on the cost of storing the property and the length of time before it is reclaimed. In general, these costs will be lo wer the sooner you contact your former landlord after being notified that property belonging to you w as left behind after you mo ved out. ” (b)   A landlord or its agent shall not char ge a tenant a fee for serving, posting, or otherwise deli vering an y notice, as described in this section. (Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 287, Sec. 1. (SB 611) Ef fective January 1, 2025.)