3-Day Notices in California: Pay or Quit, Cure or Quit, and How to Serve Them

What it requires

• A notice to pay rent or quit must state the exact amount due, who to pay, and how: name, phone, and address (with in-person hours), a bank account within five miles, or an established electronic payment method.
• Count three days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays. A rent notice can be served up to one year after the rent was due.
• For a fixable lease breach, the notice must give the tenant three days to cure.
• Serve by personal delivery; or, if the tenant is away, leave it with a suitable person and mail a copy; or post it and mail a copy.
• Don’t charge the tenant a fee for serving or posting any notice.

Owner checklist

• Right notice type for the problem
• Exact rent owed, with no late fees mixed in
• Deadline counted in court days
• Copy mailed when substituted or posted service is used (same day is best practice)
• Local just-cause and filing rules checked