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-   -   3 day pay or quit notice - California - was this filled out correctly? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=318139)

  • Feb 16, 2009, 03:06 PM
    rportnoy
    3 day pay or quit notice - California - was this filled out correctly?
    Hi -

    I, like many, have been out of work recently.

    I put in my 30 day notice to my landlord, which would have ended on th 15th of February (yesterday).

    I wasn't able to move out because of many reasons.

    Last Tuesday, I was given a 3 day or quit notice because I hadn't paid the entire two weeks of Feb. According to the notice, it said I owed $298.98 for Feb 1 through March 1, even though it should have only been to February 15.

    I know that this is an error, but the law seems clear that the notices have to be filled out to the T.

    Does this give me the right to another notice? Will a judge throw this out if they try to evict using this notice? If the notice says March 1 and they try to file on February 20, would that make sense?

    Any help would be appreciated. My landlord has threatened to take action and I don't want to be evicted. I plan on moving out this week, I just couldnt' make it out with the rain and no other place to go.

    THanks in advance for any answers!
  • Feb 16, 2009, 03:08 PM
    rportnoy

    By the way - I paid the amount due because I thought it would buy me some time since it said March 1 instead of February 15.
  • Feb 16, 2009, 03:08 PM
    ChihuahuaMomma

    It's still a notice to leave. I understand being out of work, I've been there. But if you don't leave, the sheriff will come and make you leave.
  • Feb 16, 2009, 03:09 PM
    ScottGem

    As soon as you missed the vacate date, you became responsible for the whole month.
  • Feb 16, 2009, 03:21 PM
    rportnoy
    I appreciate the answers, but with all do respect, my question is still the same. I am aware of any and all repercussions of an eviction and I know the process. I'm just trying to ask about this particular wording of my notice to vacate.

    My 3 day or quit notice states - "$298.98 for February 1 - March 1"

    I paid this amount. According to the notice, if no one knew any better, it would look as though I am paid up for the rest of February, but I know that this isn't true because that is not my rental amount. I paid it anyway, thinking that it would buy me some time before they file the eviction.

    Based on this particular notice that I was served, will this be sufficient for an eviction?
  • Feb 16, 2009, 03:33 PM
    ChihuahuaMomma
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rportnoy View Post
    I appreciate the answers, but with all do respect, my question is still the same. I am aware of any and all repercussions of an eviction and I know the process. I'm just trying to ask about this particular wording of my notice to vacate.

    My 3 day or quit notice states - "$298.98 for February 1 - March 1"

    I paid this amount. According to the notice, if no one knew any better, it would look as though I am paid up for the rest of February, but I know that this isn't true because that is not my rental amount. I paid it anyway, thinking that it would buy me some time before they file the eviction.

    Based on this particular notice that I was served, will this be sufficiant for an eviction?

    YES. You were evicted. You can't get out of it because of a typo.
  • Feb 16, 2009, 03:48 PM
    rportnoy
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ChihuahuaMomma View Post
    YES. You were evicted. You can't get out of it because of a typo.


    I wasn't evicted. I was served a notice. No eviction has been filed yet.

    I am not trying to get out of it.

    I am not trying to stay in my apartment.

    I know how evictions work.

    I know how the sheriffs department works.

    I know how the boiling temperature of water.

    What I don't know is the question I asked, which still, after 3 attempts, has not been answered. I guess that is what I get for asking someone who is not a lawyer.

    We're not talking about a typo (which is what I just made). We're talking about a wrong information entered into a 3 day notice, and as per California law, this needs to be exact.
  • Feb 16, 2009, 04:08 PM
    ScottGem

    Will the judge throw out the notice because of the error? I doubt it. But there is that possibility.

    More likely, the judge will hold the landlord to the document and rule that you are paid until 3/1.

    What you are asking us to do is predict what a judge will do. We can't do that.
  • Feb 16, 2009, 05:04 PM
    LisaB4657
    Here's what happens:

    You pay the amount that's listed on the notice. You and the landlord appear in court. The landlord says you didn't pay rent. You say you paid the full amount that was in the 3 day notice. You show the judge the notice and your receipt for the payment (canceled check).

    The landlord tells the judge that the amount was a mistake. The judge will either tell the landlord "too bad, refile for the balance" or "you can make an amendment to your complaint but the tenant has another 3 days to pay the balance."

    Of course if you've already moved out by this time and delivered the keys to the landlord then you just tell the judge that you've moved out and the case should be dismissed.
  • Feb 24, 2009, 11:27 PM
    JonathanChooCho

    Uh... If the notice was not properly written, the Unlawful Detainer will be thrown out and the landlord must start the process all over again. So yes, a typo can keep you from getting evicted.

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