Q: My
one-year lease will expire soon. I have been negotiating with the
property manager to continue, but I would prefer to go month-to-month
instead of locking myself into a new lease. The property manager says that he will only sign a month-to-month agreement
if our new agreement allows him to terminate the tenancy on 30 days'
written notice. I was told that I have a right to a 60-day notice if I
become a month-to-month tenant. Is that true, and if it is true, should
I agree to waive that right?
A: You are correct that you should
be entitled to a 60-day notice under California Civil Code Section
1946.1(b). This statute requires a 60-day notice to terminate a
month-to-month tenant occupying the property more than one year. Once
you continue renting as a month-to-month tenant after your one-year
lease expires, you will have met the requirements of this statute.
California frowns on agreements requiring tenants to waive their
basic rights. Specifically, Civil Code Section 1953(a) states that a
waiver of certain protections, such as the landlord's duty to maintain
a habitable premise, is void. The right to a 60-day notice codified in
Section 1946.1(b) is not one of the rights specified in Section
1953(a).
However, Section 1953(b) voids a waiver of any other basic tenant
right, unless that waiver was presented to the tenant before the tenant
initially occupies the premises. That request for a waiver before your
initial rental didn't occur, which means the waiver cannot be added to
your rental agreement at this subsequent stage.
Remember that Section 1946.1(b) only applies to month-to-month
tenancies, so if you and your landlord decide to revert to a lease, the
length of notice to terminate when the new lease expires is totally a
matter of negotiation between you two.
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This article appeared on page J - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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