I am a tenant in a landlord/tenant lease of a house in California. The lease period is eight months after expiration of which the tenancy becomes month-to-month. In the lease agreement there is no provision for the amount of time required to notify landlord of intention to vacate premises. The lease expires May 31, at which time the landlord has told me that I must give 60 days notice of intent to vacate. Can my landlord require me to give 60 days notice or just the standard 30 days?

If your tenancy has been more than a year the notice period is 60 days. When a lease goes month to month, all the terms of the original lease except rental and term remain in effect. If the landlord wants to require 60 days he needs to get you to agree to a new lease. If you don't agree, then he can force you to vacate on 5/31.

ScottGem is incorrect. If you have lived there for more than a year your notice period is NOT 60 days. As long as the expired written lease does not state otherwise, the amount of notice that a tenant must give to terminate a month-to-month tenancy is 30 days regardless of how long the tenant has lived there. Only a landlord must give 60 days to terminate a month-to-month tenancy if the tenant has lived there over a year.

You can read more about your rights and obligations here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cWc&cad=rjt

I am not in California, but in states where I owned rental property, Georgia, Tennessee, and Missouri, after a lease expires, it is still the rental agreement, and the terms of that lease are valid,

I would go with that a notice to move, must meet the terms of that lease. Merely reverting to month to month, does not invalidate the other terms of written lease,
** assuming that is noted in the lease.