Landlord Tenant Laws and Regulations Explained by a Sacramento Property Manager

When you are renting a property out to tenants, you need to be aware of the laws and regulations involved in rental properties. A specific area we’re talking about today is serving notices. There are a few common situations in which you would serve a notice on a resident living in your property. 

When you aren’t receiving rent, a common notice to serve is the Three Day Notice to Pay or Quit. This gives your resident three days to come up with the overdue rent, or leave the property. Something to remember on this notice is that you should only demand the amount of rent. Don’t include the late fees or any other charges. If the resident only has to come up with the rental amount, you have a better chance of collecting that money. Keep it simple and easy so there are not any hang ups if the situation does escalate to an eviction and you find yourself in court. 

Another notice you might service is the Three Day Notice to Perform Covenant or Quit. In this situation, you might have a resident who is causing damage to the house or not abiding by the lease that you both signed at the beginning of the tenancy. The idea here is to give your residents notice that they are violating the contract. You are allowing them some time to fix whatever issue needs attention, and you’ll prevent further problems. 

Finally, there is the common 30 Day Notice or 60 Day Notice to Quit the Lease. This is pretty standard and you will serve that at the end of the lease when you don’t plan to offer a renewal to your tenants. The length of time with this notice depends on how long the resident has been living in your property. If the resident has been there for over a year, you have to give 60 days’ notice. If the resident has been there less than a year, or the lease will terminate after one year, you can provide 30 days. 

Always serve a notice correctly. Check with your attorney or a professional property manager on the correct way to get a notice served so it works and you don’t find yourself repeating the process. If you have any questions about notices and how to serve them, please contact us at Sacramento Delta, and we’d be happy to help you.