Question: My lease states that the rent is due on the first of the month. If the first of the month falls on a weekend, can I require my tenants to pay rent on the weekend — if my rental office is open on the weekend?
Answer: No. If the rent is due on the first, and the first of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, pursuant to California law, the tenant has until the next business day to pay the rent. For example: If the first falls on a Saturday, the resident has all day Monday to pay the rent (assuming Monday is not a holiday), and you cannot serve a three-day notice until Tuesday at the earliest.
Ted Kimball
Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP
Question: I served a 60-day notice that expires on the 15th of the month. How much rent should I accept for the month in which the notice expires?
Answer: You can only accept 15 days of rent for that particular month. You calculate the pro-rated daily value as follows: (1) divide the monthly rent by 30 (days), (2) do not round up or down (in other words, clear the calculator screen), and (3) multiply the daily value by the number of days. For example, you calculate 15 days of rent for the monthly rent of $1,000 as follows: $1,000.00 divided by 30 is $33.33; then multiply $33.33 by 15 days, and your pro-rated rent for the 15 days would be $499.95.
Question: I want to serve a 60-day notice. However, when I calculate the expiration of the notice, it falls in the middle of the month. Can I extend the expiration of the notice to expire at the end of the month, making the notice in excess of 60 days?
Answer: Many notices will specifically state wording similar to the following: … within 60 days after service upon you of this notice, or (insert date), whichever is later, your tenancy shall be terminated. You can insert a termination date later than the 60-day expiration. You can have the expiration date fall at the end of the month. Therefore, you can accept the full month of that particular month’s rent. If a 60-day notice expires in the middle of the month, you have to be cautious of not accepting rent beyond the expiration of the notice.
Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP is a full service real estate law firm representing residential and commercial property owners and managers. This article is for general information purposes only. Laws may have changed since this article was published. Before acting, be sure to receive legal advice from our office. If you have questions, please contact your local KTS office. For contact information, please visit our website: www.kts-law.com. For past Legal Alerts, Questions & Answers, and Legal Articles, please consult the resource library section of our website.