Question: I have a “Guarantee of Rental Agreement” from the mother of a tenant. The tenant is 12 days late with the rent. Do I have an obligation to notify the mother and give her the chance to pay? What is my recourse against her if she refuses to live up to the guarantee agreement?
Ted Kimball
Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP
Answer: Notifying the guarantor may be a requirement depending upon the language of the guarantee agreement. You may want to advise the guarantor in any event and send her a courtesy copy of the three-day notice before taking action.
Question: Is it necessary that a notice to perform or quit be for three days, or can I choose to give an otherwise good tenant more time to solve the problem?
Answer: You can give the tenant more time to respond to a breach, but it should end with a three-day notice. You could write the tenant that you are going to allow them to cure the breach by a certain date and if not cured by then, a three-day notice to perform will be served.
Question: I have a renter who gave me a 30-day notice and then left the following week. Can I re-key the door locks and enter the property?
Answer: If your resident has clearly vacated the unit and communicated the same to you, you do not have to wait until the 30-day notice expires before you can relet the unit. California law requires that you mitigate your potential loss of rent by attempting to rent the property as soon as possible. The former tenant is liable for any unpaid rent up to the time the premises are relet or the 30-day notice expires.
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.