Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

If the original 60 day notice was not properly sent [that is difficult to imagine because all that is required is for a clear written notice to be sent to you at least 60 days before the date you are told the lease will end -- the formal methods of service required of a three day notice or a lawsuit do not apply] the a new notice must be sent unless you waived any defect. If the original notice was valid, his extending the date by a month would not necessarily make it invalid; if his apparent attempt was to abandon the original notice, then he has to give a brand new one. But, if what I suspect he will claim, he was just being nice and giving you an extra month but not withdrawing the prior notice, then the notice is legally proper. He does not have to file suit immediately or try to evict you. Otherwise, a tenant could argue that unless the landlord served and then filed suit when the court opens the day after the deadline passes, no unlawful detainer action would be valid. If you went next door and took possession of that house, would you be able to argue successfully that unless the owner called the police immediately upon finding you there then he could not claim you were a trespasser? However, after an undefined period of time does pass, the landlord might be legally/equitably prevented from raising his arguments and rights, but that does not appear to be the case here.

[not proof read]

Mr. Shers is right. There is no requirement of proper "service" of a 60-day notice to terminate a month-to-month tenancy. All the landlord has to do is give notice of any kind that makes you actually aware that he is terminating the tenancy in 60 days time. If you are under a lease that requires some specific form of notice, he has to comply with that, but as long as you receive actual notice the principal of substantial compliance will make it valid. So your landlord not only probably will, he legally can say he just gave you an additional month to be nice and not to bother fighting about the notice.