California Eviction Notice Template

30 days or 60 days — not always 30

Civil Code §1946.1 sets the baseline: a landlord ending a month-to-month tenancy owes 30 days' notice if the tenant has occupied the property for less than a year, and 60 days if the tenant has been there a year or more. A flat "30-day notice" — the entire premise of Jotform's template — is simply wrong for the majority of ongoing California tenancies, since most tenants worth serving a notice on have lived there over a year.

AB 1482's just-cause rule covers most rentals, and it isn't optional prose — it has to be in the notice

Once a tenant has occupied a covered unit for 12 months, Civil Code §1946.2 (the Tenant Protection Act, AB 1482) requires the landlord to state a specific, legally recognized just cause in the termination notice itself — not just have one, but write it in the notice. Just causes split into two categories: at-fault (nonpayment of rent, lease violation, nuisance, and similar tenant conduct) and no-fault (the owner or a qualifying relative moving in, a planned sale to someone who will occupy the unit, withdrawal of the unit from the rental market under the Ellis Act, a government order to vacate, or a substantial remodel). Common exemptions include single-family homes and condos where the owner is not a real estate corporation or trust and has given the required lease notice of the exemption, and duplexes where the owner occupies one unit as their principal residence — but exemptions are specific and shouldn't be assumed.

No-fault just cause triggers a relocation payment — due within 15 days, not at move-out

If the reason is a no-fault just cause, Civil Code §1946.2(g) requires the landlord to either pay the tenant relocation assistance equal to one month's rent, or waive the final month's rent in writing — the landlord's choice, but one of the two — and to notify the tenant of this right in the notice itself. This is due within 15 calendar days of serving the notice, not at the end of the tenancy. Getting this wrong isn't a minor drafting gap: the statute states outright that a landlord's failure to strictly comply with the relocation-assistance requirement renders the termination notice void.

The clauses, explained

Basis for the notice

Whether the property is exempt from AB 1482, and if not, whether the ground is at-fault just cause, no-fault just cause, nonpayment of rent, or a curable lease violation — selected above the document, since each has different required content.

Just cause statement

The specific ground for the notice, stated in the notice itself as Civil Code §1946.2 requires — not just held by the landlord, but written down.

Relocation assistance or rent waiver

Appears automatically when a no-fault ground is selected: states the landlord's choice of a direct payment equal to one month's rent or a written waiver of the final month's rent, and the 15-day deadline.

Notice period reminder

Flags the 30-day/60-day threshold based on how long the tenant has occupied the unit, so the deadline date you enter matches Civil Code §1946.1.

This notice does not evict you

States that only a court can order removal, matching the same clause on the US national version.

Proof of service

A signed declaration of how and when the notice was served — the element Jotform's California-targeted template omits entirely.

Requirements checklist

• 30 or 60 days' notice depending on tenancy length

  30 days if the tenant has occupied the unit for less than one year; 60 days if one year or more.

  Cal. Civil Code §1946.1

• A specific just cause must be stated in the notice for covered tenancies of 12+ months

  At-fault causes (nonpayment, lease violation, nuisance) and no-fault causes (owner move-in, sale, withdrawal from the rental market, substantial remodel, government order) are each defined; the notice must state which one applies.

  Cal. Civil Code §1946.2

• No-fault grounds require relocation assistance or a rent waiver within 15 days

  One month's rent, paid directly or waived in writing for the final month, at the landlord's election — and the notice must inform the tenant of this right. Non-compliance voids the notice.

  Cal. Civil Code §1946.2(g)

How to use this template

1. Choose the basis for the notice. Select whether the unit is exempt from AB 1482, or select the at-fault, no-fault, pay-rent, or cure-violation category that applies — this drives the rest of the document.
2. Fill in the parties and property. Type the landlord's and tenant's names and the rental property's address.
3. Confirm the tenant's length of occupancy. Select under one year or one year or more so the notice period reminder matches Civil Code §1946.1's 30-day/60-day rule, and set the deadline date accordingly.
4. State the specific just cause. Describe the specific ground relied on — required in the notice itself for covered tenancies of 12 months or more, not just true in fact.
5. Set the relocation payment or rent waiver if the ground is no-fault. If you selected a no-fault ground, fill in the relocation amount or confirm the rent waiver — this must reach the tenant within 15 days of the notice or the notice is void.
6. Serve the notice and complete proof of service. Serve using a method California law permits, then have the server complete and sign the proof-of-service section with the date and method.

Frequently asked questions

Related templates

• Lease Termination and Agreement to Vacate Template (US)
• Residential Lease Agreement Template (US)