Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I have a month-to-month rental agreement ( not in writing) with a tenant after the one year lease expired. The tenant gave me a 30 day notice to vacate the premise in the middle of the month, so the move out day would be the middle of next month. The tenant only want to pay for the 15 days rent of the last month. My question is, as the name "month-to-month' suggest, can the tenant break the monthly rent into individual day without the landlord's agreement? The premise is not a motel!!


Asked on 9/20/11, 8:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

"Month-to-month" is a casual term without legal significance. The correct legal term is "tenancy at will." A tenancy at will may be terminated by either party upon giving notice of not less than the frequency with which rent is due and paid, but not less than 30 days nor more than a year. Also there is a statute that says if the landlord wishes to terminate a residential tenancy at will for a tenant that has been in possession of the premises for more than a year, the minimum notice the landlord (but not the tenant) must give is 60 days. So if your tenant has been paying monthly rent, and they gave you notice 30 days before they vacated or will vacate the premises, they only owe pro rata rent for the portion of the final calendar month they are there.

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Answered on 9/20/11, 8:23 pm


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