Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Any help would be great. I have a verbal agreement w/tenant, she has been there 2 years, when I went to pick up the rent, she is in the process of moving(to my surprise). She says she doesn't have the rent, but will be out by the 15th, and will pay 1/2 months rent on Sunday. Since this was a verbal agreement, do I have any legal recourse? No 30 day notice, and non-payment of the rent for Dec. ? This is my first experience with a renter/rental home, and its been a leaning exp. Any ideas for what Calif. law provides for this? Thank you in advance, Dar

I know for a fact that most judges only honor written contracts if it goes to court , it has to be in writing because it comes out as your word against your tenant s

Posted by Donald G, MA on Wednesday, December 2, 2009

In California a tenant must give the landlord the same amount of notice as there are days between rent payments. This means that if rent is paid monthly, then tenant must give the landlord written notice at least 30 days before moving out; weekly would require noticeof seven days. Technically it looks like your tenant is paying 1/2 a month's rent. Although it may be difficult to win in court with a verbal arrangement, it does happen. The way to do this is that you show precedent by showing the judge a record of the monthly payments as well as any check stubs, receipts, etc.... But, if you have a security deposit for this tenant, you may deduct unpaid rent. Make sure though that you follow the rules of returning a security deposit in CA to a "T". Generally you will have a specified number of days to remit a claim against any damages and this MUST be in writing !

Posted by Denise S, PA on Thursday, December 3, 2009