How Much Notice Does a Landlord Have to Give in California?

California has more notice requirements than almost any other state, and they vary depending on what the notice is for. Entry, rent increases, termination, eviction, sale of the property — each has its own timeline, its own rules, and its own consequences for getting it wrong. A landlord who gives 30 days notice when 90 are required does not just lose the case. In some situations the notice is void and the clock starts over.

Here is a clear breakdown of every major notice requirement California landlords face.

Entry Notice: 24 Hours

California Civil Code § 1954 requires landlords to give tenants at least 24 hours advance written notice before entering a rental unit for non-emergency purposes. Entry must occur during normal business hours, generally 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, unless the tenant agrees to a different time.

The 24-hour notice must be in writing. A verbal heads-up does not satisfy the requirement. Notice can be delivered personally, left on or under the door, or sent by first-class mail. If mailed, it must be sent at least six days before the intended entry to account for delivery time.

Permitted reasons for entry include making repairs or improvements, showing the unit to prospective tenants or buyers, responding to a court order, and conducting an inspection if the tenant has given notice of intent to move out. In a genuine emergency, a landlord can enter without notice. A burst pipe, fire, or gas leak qualifies. A routine concern does not.

A landlord who enters without proper notice violates the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment. Repeated unauthorized entry can constitute harassment and give the tenant grounds to seek damages. Civil Code § 1954(e) allows tenants to recover actual damages plus a minimum of $100 per violation.

Rent Increase Notice: 30 Days or 90 Days

The notice period for a rent increase in California depends entirely on the size of the increase.

For any increase of 10% or less within a 12-month period, the landlord must give at least 30 days written advance notice before the increase takes effect.

For any increase of more than 10% within a 12-month period, the landlord must give at least 90 days written advance notice. That is three months of notice for a double-digit rent increase. Miss that window and the increase cannot take effect until 90 days have run from proper notice.

For units covered by the California Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), the rent increase itself is capped regardless of notice. For the period August 2025 through July 2026, the statewide cap is 5% plus the local CPI, with a maximum of 10%. In the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward metro area, the current maximum is 6.3% based on the April 2025 CPI release. In Los Angeles, the AB 1482 cap is 8.0% for the same period. Oakland and Berkeley are subject to far stricter local ordinances at 0.8% and 1.0% respectively. For covered units, a landlord who gives proper notice but exceeds the allowable cap is in violation regardless of whether the tenant objected.

Rent increases are also limited in frequency for covered units. A landlord can only increase rent once in any 12-month period. The clock runs from the date of the last increase, not the calendar year. An increase implemented in June 2025 cannot be followed by another increase until June 2026 at the earliest.

For units not covered by AB 1482 or local rent control, the same 30-day and 90-day notice rules apply but there is no cap on the amount of the increase.

Termination Notice: 30 Days or 60 Days

The notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy in California depends on how long the tenant has been in place.

If all tenants have occupied the unit for less than one year, a 30-day written notice to terminate is required from either party.

If any tenant has occupied the unit for one year or more, the landlord must give 60 days written notice to terminate. The tenant only needs to give 30 days notice to the landlord regardless of tenancy length.

There is one exception to the 60-day rule. If all of the following apply, a 30-day notice is sufficient even for long-term tenants: the property is a single-family home, townhouse, or condo; the landlord is selling the unit; the landlord has opened escrow with a licensed agent; fewer than 120 days have passed since escrow opened; no prior 30 or 60-day notice has been given; and the buyer in good faith intends to occupy the property as their primary residence for at least one year.

For fixed-term leases, no termination notice is required to end the tenancy at the agreed end date. The lease simply expires. If the landlord intends not to renew, best practice is to notify the tenant well in advance rather than waiting for the end date to arrive. If the landlord accepts rent after the fixed term expires without executing a new lease, the tenancy converts to month-to-month and the notice requirements above apply going forward.

Just Cause Eviction Notice Requirements Under AB 1482

For units covered by the Tenant Protection Act, a landlord cannot terminate a tenancy without just cause once occupancy thresholds are met. Just cause protections kick in when all tenants have continuously and lawfully occupied the unit for at least 12 months, or when at least one tenant has been there for 24 months or more.

Just cause falls into two categories. At-fault just cause includes nonpayment of rent, breach of a lease term, nuisance, criminal activity on the premises, subletting without permission, refusal to allow lawful entry, and similar tenant-caused violations. No-fault just cause includes owner or family member move-in, substantial remodel requiring the tenant to vacate, demolition, and withdrawal of the unit from the rental market under the Ellis Act.

For at-fault terminations, the notice period depends on the violation. Nonpayment of rent gets a 3-day notice to pay or quit. A curable lease violation gets a 3-day notice to cure or quit. An incurable violation such as serious criminal activity gets a 3-day unconditional notice to quit. For a second violation of the same lease provision within 12 months, the landlord can serve an unconditional 3-day notice without a cure opportunity.

For no-fault terminations of covered units, the landlord must also provide relocation assistance equal to one month's rent, paid within 15 calendar days of serving the termination notice. Alternatively, the landlord can waive the final month's rent in writing. The termination notice must explicitly state which option is being provided and the amount. A no-fault termination notice that omits the relocation assistance disclosure is void.

AB 1482 Notice in Every Covered Lease

Landlords of units covered by AB 1482 are required to include a written notice of tenant rights in every lease or as a signed addendum. For any tenancy beginning or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, this notice must appear in the lease before signing. The required language is set by statute and reads:

"California law limits the amount your rent can be increased. See Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code for more information. California law also provides that after all of the tenants have continuously and lawfully occupied the property for 12 months or more or at least one of the tenants has continuously and lawfully occupied the property for 24 months or more, a landlord must provide a statement of cause in any notice to terminate a tenancy. See Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code for more information."

For single-family homes and condos that are exempt from AB 1482, the lease must include a different statutory exemption notice. Without that exemption notice in the lease, the property is treated as covered by AB 1482 regardless of whether it would otherwise qualify for the exemption. A landlord who owns a single-family home, fails to include the exemption language, and then tries to issue a termination without just cause cannot claim the exemption after the fact. The notice in the lease is what creates the exemption.

Notice When the Property Is Sold

When a rental property is sold while occupied, tenants have specific notice rights under California law. Tenants in a fixed-term lease have the right to remain until the lease expires regardless of the sale. The new owner inherits the lease obligations.

For month-to-month tenants, the new owner can issue a termination notice following the standard rules above: 30 days for tenancies under one year, 60 days for tenancies of one year or more. For tenants in units covered by AB 1482 just cause protections, the new owner must have a qualifying reason to terminate just like the previous owner.

If a foreclosure occurs, tenants must receive at least 90 days written notice before being required to vacate regardless of tenancy type or duration.

Local Rent Control Adds Another Layer

AB 1482 is the statewide floor. Cities and counties with their own rent control ordinances apply stricter rules on top of it, and those local rules take precedence where they exist. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Santa Monica, and dozens of other California cities have local rent stabilization ordinances that impose lower caps, longer notice periods, and additional just cause requirements beyond what state law mandates.

San Francisco requires 60 days written notice before any rent increase regardless of the amount, compared to 30 days under state law for increases under 10%. Los Angeles RSO units have their own annual increase limits set by the Rent Adjustment Commission, currently far below the AB 1482 cap. Oakland RSO units are capped at 0.8% for 2025-2026. Berkeley is capped at 1.0%.

A landlord operating in any California city with local rent control needs to check both the state rules and the local ordinance before issuing any rent increase or termination notice. Getting the state rules right while missing the local ones is still a violation.

Section 8 Tenants Get Extended Notice

Tenants receiving housing assistance through Section 8 have additional protections in California. A landlord terminating a Section 8 tenancy for no reason must give at least 90 days notice, rather than the standard 30 or 60 days that applies to other tenants. The at-fault 3-day notice rules still apply for lease violations, but the baseline no-fault notice is significantly longer.

What All of This Means for the Lease

California's notice requirements do not operate independently of the lease. The lease is where notice delivery methods are defined, where the AB 1482 statutory language must appear, where the single-family home exemption notice must be included if applicable, and where the entry notice policy is spelled out. A lease that omits the AB 1482 notice or includes the wrong exemption language creates a compliance failure that affects what notices the landlord can legally give later in the tenancy.

A California residential lease agreement built to current state law includes the required AB 1482 statutory language, the correct exemption notice where applicable, the 24-hour entry notice provision, and the late fee and deposit terms calibrated to California's specific requirements. That foundation is what makes every subsequent notice the landlord gives legally defensible. The eviction notice timeline tool maps California's specific notice periods by violation type so you know exactly how many days are required before any court filing.