23Apr
Common Eviction Notices Before a landlord can file an eviction lawsuit against a tenant they must first abide by the applicable notice requirements. The type and content of the eviction notice depends on the city/county in question. If the tenant does not vacate within the specified notice period a landlord can thereafter file an eviction / unlawful detainer lawsuit. The most common notices are:
An eviction notice to "pay or quit" relates to non-payment of rent. Once served with such an eviction notice a tenant has exactly three calendar days--that is, 72 hours--to pay the amount of back rent demanded in the notice. Because the eviction notice requirements are strictly construed, failure to pay within this time period - even by a day, could provide sufficient grounds for a landlord to file an eviction lawsuit. Note that a landlord cannot include late fees in a Three Day Pay/Quit Notice.
A three-day notice to "cure or quit" commonly is served in situations where a landlord believes a tenant to have breached a term of an existing lease agreement. Some common grounds for this type of eviction notice include: subletting in violation of your lease--including renting your apartment on AirBnB; storing personal belongings in common areas; having pets when the lease does not allow for pets; causing excessive noise or otherwise causing or allowing to exist a "nuisance." In these instances, you must "cure" the purported violation within 72 hours or an owner may proceed with an eviction lawsuit.
In limited cases, a landlord may serve a three-day notice to quit, without the option to pay or cure the alleged violation. This type of eviction notice is meant to be used for very serious breaches of the lease, such as conducting an illegal business or in situations where there is no way to cure the alleged violation.
Under state law a landlord must provide a minimum of sixty days written notice in order to terminate an existing tenancy of one year or longer. In many parts of California there are no eviction control measures, which makes defending an eviction lawsuit very difficult. Where a landlord is not required to provide a reason for an eviction they simply need to be able to show the provided proper eviction notice. In certain circumstances tenants in these situations may have a defense based on retaliation.
In San Francisco a landlord must provide sixty days written eviction notice for any Owner or Relative Move-In Eviction prior to initiating an eviction lawsuit
For evictions under the Ellis Act, a landlord is required to provide 120 days written notice prior to filing an eviction lawsuit. Elderly and/or disabled tenants may be entitled to a full year notice, though such tenants must inform their landlord in writing of their entitlement to additional time.
If you have received an eviction notice it is imperative that you speak to someone before the notice period has lapsed to best evaluate your options. To discuss your eviction notice with an experienced tenant attorney contact us today.
Recovered on behalf of a group of 30 tenants living in an SRO in San Francisco who were living with horrendous conditions in their rent controlled apartments, including rodents, bedbugs, mold, water leaks and harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of three families living in a building in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood who were forced to live with substandard conditions for years as a result of their landlord’s negligence, including issues with lack of heat, lack of hot water and cockroach/rat infestations.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a couple living in a rent-controlled home in the outer Sunset neighborhood. Our clients were forced to vacate after the landlord served them with an Owner Move-In Eviction Notice. After the landlords failed to move into the property, our clients filed suit for wrongful eviction.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant in Russian Hill. Tenant was forced to vacate her illegal apartment in retaliation for reporting unlawful rent increases to the San Francisco Rent Board.Read More
Recovered for a single long-term tenant in San Francisco. Our client was forced to move out of his apartment as a result of extreme landlord harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of three long-term tenants in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood who were constructively evicted due to noise and nuisance conditions created by their downstairs neighbors, which the owner refused to address.Read More
Recovered on behalf of elderly, disabled tenant who was forced to move out of her rent-controlled San Francisco apartment of 50 years after landlord/owner failed to resolve numerous building code violations that remained outstanding for over a decade.Read More
Recovered on behalf of seven tenants living in a makeshift boarding house in East Palo Alto.Read More
Recovered on behalf of two former San Francisco tenants who were evicted via an Owner Move-In Eviction and owner failed to occupy the unit as her primary place of residence.Read More
Recovered on behalf of an elderly long-term tenant who was forced to vacate her long San Francisco apartment as a result of her landlord’s refusal to address longstanding defective conditions, including lack of heat, mold, rodent infestations, and defective plumbing. Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who was forced to vacate his home as a result of ongoing, disruptive construction and the owners’ refusal to provide him with alternative housing. Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco family that was constructively evicted from their home in the Richmond District as a result of unlawful rent increases, defective conditions and tenant harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a tenant living in an illegal “in-law” unit. In this case, a new owner purchased the building and then demolished our client’s unit without permits while she was displaced for seismic retrofitting.Read More
Recovered on behalf of two long term San Francisco tenants who were fraudulently evicted from their home of over twenty years under the pretext of an owner move-in eviction.Read More
Recovered for tenant who was injured when their stairway railing collapsed at the tenant’s Mission District apartment building.Read More
Recovered in action for a group of tenants forced to vacate their San Francisco apartment house due to severe habitability defects including mold and water leaks.Read More
For more information or to discuss your legal situation, call us today at (415) 649-6203 for a phone consultation or submit an inquiry below. Please note our firm can only assist tenants residing in San Francisco, Oakland & Berkeley.