Can I evict a lease-holding tenant for nonpayment of rent in California?

When tenants who have leases are late with the rent in California, landlords must serve them with a “three-day notice to pay or quit.” If the tenant fails to pay or move-out by the end of the third day, the landlord can file for eviction.

In some states (including Arkansas, Connecticut, and a few others), landlords who are dealing with late-payers can simply terminate the tenancy, without giving the tenant a chance to pay and save the lease. In other states, landlords dealing with chronic late-payers have the option to demand that they leave, without giving them a chance to pay. (In Georgia, for example, landlords can tell tenants to move immediately if the rent is late a second time within a twelve-month period.)

California does not give landlords either an absolute right to terminate for nonpayment, nor the option to terminate habitual late-payers. The most you can do is to promptly serve your tenant with a three-day pay or quit notice the first day the rent is late. If the tenant pays before the end of the third day, he gets to stay, no matter how many times you have to play this game. If he neither pays nor moves out, you can file an eviction lawsuit.

Landlords whose tenants do not have a lease, but are instead month-to-month, have a much more satisfactory answer: Although they cannot terminate unconditionally, they can skip the three-day notice and give a 30-day notice (or 60-day, for residencies lasting a year or more; or 90-days, for subsidized tenancies.). A 30-, 60-, or 90-day notice need not give a reason, and is valid as long as the landlord’s motive is not illegal (retaliatory or discriminatory). If the motive is to get rid of a chronic late-paying tenant, that should stand up in court if the landlord is challenged.