In California, is notice to terminate my lease valid if made by email?
My lease specifies a 90 day notice for termination. I notified the landlord (who lives in england) by email and she responded with regrets. I’m worried that we will move out, then the landlord will say we didn’t provide legal notice and try to take my security deposit for time after the email notice. I will also be sending a written (and faxed) notice but this will be about 20 days later.
Also, CA Law seems to indicate a 30 day notice requirement. Is this superceded by the lease agreement which specifies 90?
Tagged with: 30 day notice • ca law • email • england • landlord • lease agreement • notice requirement • regrets • security deposit
Filed under: Send Fax by Email
Email is not usually considered proper notice. But since the landlord responded by email and acknowledged your email then that is proof that notice was given. The landlord would not be able to claim in court that she did not receive the notice. If you had sent the email and not received a response then it would not have been proper notice.
Make sure that you save hard copies of both your email notice and her email response.
While CA law requires 30 days notice, the landlord and tenant are allowed to contract for a longer notice period. In this case the lease supercedes the law.
your better off with a registered letter !
ack…. ask ur landlord for a phone number where you can reach ur landlord…. and ask if you can talk to him/ her via email…. and be sure to save all of emails from you and ur landlord.
California requires landlords to give 30 days notice, I am not sure about the tenant. If you received a response to your email then I bet that would be enough, just keep hard copies of the original email and the response. If the landlord lives in England and wants to be crappy about your deposit return then they could do it for any reason, US laws do not bind them. I would go to The State of California website and see if you can get additional info. Good Luck
30 day notice is the minimum, 90 is fine. Email is not a proper means of delivery, also the landlord is required to give a notice of pre-inspection moveout. State law gives you the right to have a pre-inspection of your apartment unit to determine what deficiencies or defects may be currently evident in your apartment that might fall outside the realm of reasonable wear and tear. You do not need to be present for this inspection, but this inspection unless declined, by law, must occur within two weeks of your scheduled departure. The eviction notice needs to be posted and/or mailed to you. The owner needs to keep a portion that indicates the means and date of delivery. Still the court may side with owner as he is out of state and you did receive adequate notice. Certainly you will want to save the full text of the email and print it out. Your letter of acceptance will be quite sufficient just mention the date you received the email that it was a 90 day, when you expect to move out by and what date you are responding back by. However, if you decide to move prior to the 90 day then you should absolutely send the owner at minimum a 30 day notice to move, keep a copy of course.
The lease (90 days) takes precedence and as the lawyer said, the response to your e-mail is sufficient notice. If you have any concerns on not getting your deposit back, you should make it known to your landlord. We’re not all bad people you know.
By the way, doesn’t your landlord have a property management company handling this rental? Regardless, take pictures and/or video of the place when you move out in case if the landlord withholds your security deposit or makes any deductions above those of normal wear and tear.
Regards