Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Your options are somewhat limited. First, you can contact the landlord and try to work something out to buy yourself more time. You will almost certainly have to give the landlord some of what you owe as a sign of good faith. Second, you can pay the entire amount due. That doesn't sound like it's possible, but it is one of your options. Third, you can move before the end of the three days. Again, it doesn't sound like that is possible, but it is an option. Fourth, you can do nothing. If the three day notice expires, then the landlord must file an eviction lawsuit, serve you and obtain a judgment of possession before he can evict you. The landlord cannot exercise "self help" by just kicking you out - he or she must get a court order first. That can take as little as 10 days (in a perfect world) to up to a month or more depending on how you respond to the lawsuit. During that time, you are generally not evicted from the property. The question in my mind is how did you get so far behind in rent, and not start thinking about moving?

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If the notice is correct in what you owe, you should be prepared to move in about 45 to 60 days, maybe a little less if your county's courts aren't too busy. That is about how long it will take to go through the unlawful detainer process and for the landlord to get the sheriff to your door. You will then have a money judgement against you for the unpaid rent plus costs. If the amount is not correct, you will need to try to work something out with the landlord to pay the correct amount, or you will have a little more time if the landlord stands by an incorrect amount and you can prove it, because overstating the amount due invalidates the notice. So he will have to correct it and start over.