Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

i have been renting for three months, a house, and this beginning of the fourth month, am unable to pay my rent, i informed my landlord of this, and was told if i couldn't pay, i would have to be out by 4:00 p.m. the following day. on my rental agreement, it says: "on a periodic tenancy basis, terminable by either party by giving of a written notice pursuant to paragraph 22 of the agreement", paragraph 22 of the agreement says: "if this agreement is a periodic tenancy, either party may terminate the tenancy by the service of at least 30 days written notice, if the tenancy is less then one year", my landlord said due to the fact i did not pay the entire deposit when i moved in, and have been allowed to pay it in payments of 50 dollars a month, and have not fully paid it yet, that i do have to be out by the time he gave me tommorow. is this true, or am i still entitled to a 30 day notice like it states in our agreement?


Asked on 8/08/09, 3:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

The landlord first would have to give you a written 3-day notice. Then if you don't pay up within that time or leave, the landlord would have to file an unlawful detainer lawsuit. You can then answer or ignore it. If you ignore it, the landlord would obtain a judgment against you for possession and possibly money. If you answer and have a defense, then a trial will be held a few weeks down the road. If you lose, the sheriff will set a date a few days away to evict you.

It is not unheard of for landlords to change the locks immediately. However, that is unlawful and could subject the landlord to penalties if you were to prevail in your own lawsuit.

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Answered on 8/08/09, 12:29 pm


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