Tenant’s 30-Day Notice to Vacate in California: Delivery and Deposit

In California, a tenant on a month-to-month rental gives a 30-day notice to vacate by delivering written notice to the landlord at least 30 full days before the intended move-out date. You owe rent through that termination date, and the landlord then has 21 calendar days after you leave to return your security deposit or send an itemized statement of what was withheld.¹

When 30 Days Is the Right Amount of Notice

The 30-day rule comes from California Civil Code Section 1946, which lets either side end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days’ written notice.¹ It applies to you regardless of how long you’ve lived there. Three months or three years, the tenant’s notice is 30 days.

You may have heard that tenants who’ve lived in a unit for a year or more must give 60 days. That’s not accurate. The 60-day requirement under Civil Code Section 1946.1 applies to landlords ending a tenancy, not tenants leaving one.

If you’re on a fixed-term lease, a 30-day notice isn’t automatically what you need. A lease that simply expires on its end date generally ends without any notice. But many leases include a clause that rolls the arrangement into a month-to-month tenancy once the fixed term runs out. After that conversion, the 30-day notice rules apply. Read your lease before assuming the tenancy ends on its own.

What to Put in the Notice

California doesn’t publish an official form. The statute just requires the notice to be in writing. A vague notice invites arguments later, so include the specifics:

The full names of every adult listed on the lease.
The complete property address, with unit or apartment number.
The date you’re signing and delivering the notice.
Your move-out date, set at least 30 full days after the landlord receives the notice. Deliver on June 5, and the earliest termination date you can set is July 5.
A forwarding address for the deposit refund and itemized statement.

Have every adult tenant on the lease sign it. Templates from local legal aid or tenant resource centers are fine and help you avoid leaving something out.

How to Deliver It So the Clock Starts Cleanly

Handing the notice directly to your landlord or property manager is the cleanest option. If that isn’t practical, the California Department of Real Estate recommends certified mail with return receipt requested.² You get proof of mailing from the post office and a signed receipt when the landlord accepts delivery. Keep both. If anyone later disputes when the 30-day clock started, that receipt settles it.

Mailing adds a timing wrinkle. California law tacks on five extra calendar days for postal transit when both addresses are within the state.³ So if your move-out date is tight, deliver in person or mail well ahead of the deadline.

Email and text messages don’t count as valid written notice unless your lease specifically authorizes electronic notices. Even if you and your landlord routinely text about maintenance, that habit doesn’t make a texted termination enforceable. Follow up with a hard copy.

Rent During the 30 Days

You owe rent through the termination date, not through the end of the calendar month. The clock runs from the day the landlord receives your notice, and rent is prorated for any partial month.¹

An example: you pay rent on the first, and you deliver notice on September 10. The tenancy ends October 10. You owe the 20 remaining days in September plus 10 days of October rent.² If you move out earlier and the landlord happens to re-rent the unit to a new tenant who starts paying before your 30 days expire, you may not owe rent for the overlap. Don’t count on that happening.

Giving fewer than 30 days doesn’t shorten the obligation. You still owe rent for the full 30-day period even if you drop off the keys sooner.

Request a Pre-Move-Out Inspection

You have the right to a walkthrough of the unit before you leave so you can see exactly what the landlord plans to deduct from your deposit. This initial inspection happens no earlier than two weeks before your termination date. After you give notice, the landlord is required to tell you in writing that you can request the inspection and be present for it.⁴

If you request it, the two of you find a workable time and the landlord gives at least 48 hours’ written notice of when the inspection will happen. Afterward, the landlord provides an itemized list of proposed deductions. That’s your chance to handle the cleaning or minor repairs yourself before turning over the keys, which can save real money.

The landlord can only charge for damage beyond normal wear and tear. Faded paint, minor carpet wear, and small nail holes from hanging pictures are ordinary use. Holes punched in walls, burned carpet, broken windows, and missing fixtures are tenant damage. The line between those two categories is where most deposit fights begin, which is exactly why the pre-move-out inspection is worth requesting.

Getting Your Security Deposit Back

Once you’ve vacated and returned the keys, the landlord has 21 calendar days to either refund the full deposit or send an itemized statement listing every deduction along with any remaining balance.⁴ The deadline is strict.

When deductions for repairs and cleaning together exceed $125, the landlord must include supporting documentation such as bills, invoices, or receipts. If the landlord or an employee did the work personally, the statement has to describe the work, the time spent, and the hourly rate charged.⁴

Take your own photos of every room on the day you move out. As of 2025, California also requires the landlord to photograph the unit after you vacate but before making repairs or cleaning, and again after those repairs are finished, with those photos attached to the deduction statement.⁴ Your own record gives you something to compare against.

A landlord who fails to comply with the itemized-statement rules in bad faith forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit. Bad faith retention can also expose the landlord to statutory damages of up to twice the deposit amount on top of actual damages.⁴ In any dispute, the landlord carries the burden of proving the deductions were reasonable. Security deposit claims up to $12,500 can be filed in California small claims court without a lawyer.

If You’re on a Fixed-Term Lease

The 30-day notice process doesn’t get you out of a fixed-term lease early. Simply giving 30 days and walking away leaves you open to financial liability. If you break the lease without legal justification, the landlord can pursue the unpaid rent through the end of the term, subject to a duty to mitigate by making a reasonable effort to re-rent the unit. Once a new tenant moves in and starts paying, your liability for future months stops. You’d still owe rent for the vacant period and reasonable re-rental costs the landlord incurred, such as advertising.

Some situations do let you end a fixed-term lease without penalty:

Uninhabitable conditions the landlord refuses to fix.
Active-duty military deployment or permanent change of station orders lasting more than 90 days, under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. You deliver written notice with a copy of your orders, and the lease terminates 30 days after the next rent payment comes due following delivery. The landlord cannot charge early termination fees, and you should be cautious about signing any SCRA waiver.⁵
Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or certain other qualifying crimes may terminate under Civil Code Section 1946.7. You provide written notice with supporting documentation such as a protective order, police report, or statement from a qualified professional, given within 180 days of the qualifying event or order.⁶

1
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946 – Hiring of Real Property
2
California Department of Real Estate. Moving Out
3
California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 1013 – Service by Mail
4
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1950.5 – Security Deposits
5
Military OneSource. Military Clause: Terminate Your Lease Due to Deployment or PCS
6
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946.7 – Termination of Tenancy by Victim