Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
3-Day Notice to Pay or Quit
We just received a 3-day notice to pay or quit after gving our landlord 30-day notice of intent to move and asking that our last month's rent be taken out of our deposit which is greater than the amount of rent. What are our rights.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: 3-Day Notice to Pay or Quit
I don't know the terms of your particular lease, but generally rent has to be paid IN ADVANCE while a deposit has to be refunded a short while AFTER you are no longer a tenant. Therefore, failure to pay the rent depletes the landlord's security deposit and violates your agreement to maintain a deposit, and breaches the lease.
An eviction, however, seems pretty extreme unless the landlord suspects there will be major claims against your deposit for cleaning, damage, etc.