Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
60 day notice to vacate
Hello
I have given a tenent a 60 day notice to vacate as required which is effective 9/15/2008. I first sent the a UPS package overnight for delivery on 9/13. There was no answer on her door in which the driver left the package on her door. Although she was home all weekend, she left the package at her door (i think she may of read it first). The package was gone by 9/15 but to be safe, I went to her apartment and knocked on her door. Upon no answer, I taped very securely the notice on her door. As of today, the note is on her door still and I have witnessed her coming in and out of the house with no regard to this note in plain sight. In addition, she has sent back the UPS package as refused. She knows what we are trying to do as she would not work so hard to make a point that she will not look at the notice. I am not sure what my next step is. I have taken a photo of the door with the note and she refuses to open the door when we knock to hand her the note. If we mail, which I plan on doing today - my guess she will return to sender. Ceritifed mail will just be refused. Please help.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: 60 day notice to vacate
You need to proceed with eviction proceedings. Call me directly for assistance.
Re: 60 day notice to vacate
Go ahead and send it certified mail, but by placing notice on the door you have satisfied the service requirement. There is no "avoiding process" trick she may utilize in this situation. From what you have written, you have satisfied your notice requirements. If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me.
Yours truly,
Bryan
619.400.4929
Re: 60 day notice to vacate
First, check the lease and see what it says about service of notices and timeframes because you need to comply with the lease in addition to the law. Regardless of what the lease says, you need to at a minimum perform service of the 60 day notice in accordance with CCP 1162 (below). The service by UPS you described doesn't comply with the law, so you're going to have to start over.
If you have no written lease whatsoever, or even if you do at a minimum you need to comply with the provisions of CA Code of Civil Proc. Sec. 1162 which requires (1) that the notice be personally served, or (2) if the tenant is absent from her residence and/or place of business and cannot be personally served, that the notice be served upon a person of suitable age and discretion at either the residence or business and then a copy mailed to the residence, or (3) if no person of suitable age and discretion is available at either the residence or work, the notice must be posted in a conspicuous place on the residence property, then mailed to the tenant at the residence. Be sure you name all tenants on the lease as well as any subtenants you may be aware of. You can hire a process server to track her down and personally serve her, or accomplish the other service methods provided for in 1162. Its not a bad idea since obviously she is trying to dodge service, and will claim that she was not served in court in the inevitable eviction lawsuit. Process servers very rarely are questioned in court as to their truthfulness, so your tenant would lose that argument.
If you still elect to do this yourself, I would strongly suggest the following. First, have someone who is not an owner of the property do the service of the notice. Second, where 1162 says send by mail, I always send it twice on the same day - once regular mail (that way you comply with the statute, and know she gets it) and once by certified mail, return receipt requested. The person who attempts to personally serve her should also put the notices in the envelopes, stamp them and put them in the mail, and sign a proof of service. Read 1162 for the exact language.
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