California Notice to Vacate Rules

California rules on notice to vacate for renters and landlords, with the statute or official page behind each answer. Last verified: 2026-10-22.

Short answer: Landlord: 30 days' written notice if the tenant has lived there less than one year, 60 days if one year or more. Tenant: notice at least as long as the rental period, usually 30 days for month-to-month. Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1946, 1946.1, 1946.2

The rules in California

Ending a month-to-month lease	Landlord: 30 days' written notice if the tenant has lived there less than one year, 60 days if one year or more. Tenant: notice at least as long as the rental period, usually 30 days for month-to-month. Where the AB 1482 Tenant Protection Act applies (after 12 months of occupancy, non-exempt property), the landlord also needs a just cause stated in the notice. No-fault just cause requires relocation assistance. A 30-day landlord notice is allowed for a qualifying sale of a separately alienable unit to an owner-occupant buyer (§ 1946.1(d)). § 1946.2 was amended by AB 1529 (Stats. 2025, ch. 203), effective January 1, 2026, and sunsets January 1, 2030. Some cities have stronger just-cause ordinances. Source: Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1946, 1946.1, 1946.2

Ending a month-to-month lease

Landlord: 30 days' written notice if the tenant has lived there less than one year, 60 days if one year or more. Tenant: notice at least as long as the rental period, usually 30 days for month-to-month. Where the AB 1482 Tenant Protection Act applies (after 12 months of occupancy, non-exempt property), the landlord also needs a just cause stated in the notice. No-fault just cause requires relocation assistance.

A 30-day landlord notice is allowed for a qualifying sale of a separately alienable unit to an owner-occupant buyer (§ 1946.1(d)). § 1946.2 was amended by AB 1529 (Stats. 2025, ch. 203), effective January 1, 2026, and sunsets January 1, 2030. Some cities have stronger just-cause ordinances.

Source: Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1946, 1946.1, 1946.2

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California vs. neighboring states

Notice to Vacate: California vs. neighboring states
State	Ending a month-to-month lease
California	Landlord: 30 days' written notice if the tenant has lived there less than one year, 60 days if one year or more. Tenant: notice at least as long as the rental period, usually 30 days for month-to-month. Where the AB 1482 Tenant Protection Act applies (after 12 months of occupancy, non-exempt property), the landlord also needs a just cause stated in the notice. No-fault just cause requires relocation assistance. Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1946, 1946.1, 1946.2
Arizona	Either party gives written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice. Week-to-week tenancies need at least 10 days' written notice. A.R.S. § 33-1375(A)-(B)
Nevada	Landlord: at least 30 days' written notice for month-to-month (and other non-weekly periodic) tenancies; 7 days for week-to-week; 5 days for tenancy at will. A tenant 60 or older or with a physical or mental disability may request an additional 30 days of possession (not for week-to-week). Tenant: no statute sets a separate notice period for the tenant, but a rental agreement may not require the tenant to give the landlord a different notice of termination than the landlord must give the tenant (30 days for month-to-month). NRS 40.251(1)-(2); NRS 118A.220(1)(e)
Oregon	Tenant: at least 30 days' written notice. Landlord, first year of occupancy: at least 30 days' notice without cause. Landlord after first year: only for tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason (demolition/conversion, major repairs, owner or immediate family moving in, sale to owner-occupant) with at least 90 days' notice - or 60 days for an accepted purchase offer if one month's rent is paid with the notice. Landlords with an ownership interest in 5 or more residential dwelling units must pay a relocation payment of one month's rent with qualifying-reason notices (landlords with an interest in 4 or fewer units are exempt, ORS 90.427(6)(b)). Week-to-week: 10 days by either party. ORS 90.427

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