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California Civil Code Section 1951.3

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Civil Code > California Civil Code Section 1951.3

1951.3.  (a) Real property shall be deemed abandoned by the lessee,
within the meaning of Section 1951.2, and the lease shall terminate
if the lessor gives written notice of his belief of abandonment as
provided in this section and the lessee fails to give the lessor
written notice, prior to the date of termination specified in the
lessor's notice, stating that he does not intend to abandon the real
property and stating an address at which the lessee may be served by
certified mail in any action for unlawful detainer of the real
property.
   (b) The lessor may give a notice of belief of abandonment to the
lessee pursuant to this section only where the rent on the property
has been due and unpaid for at least 14 consecutive days and the
lessor reasonably believes that the lessee has abandoned the
property. The date of termination of the lease shall be specified in
the lessor's notice and shall be not less than 15 days after the
notice is served personally or, if mailed, not less than 18 days
after the notice is deposited in the mail.
   (c) The lessor's notice of belief of abandonment shall be
personally delivered to the lessee or sent by first-class mail,
postage prepaid, to the lessee at his last known address and, if
there is reason to believe that the notice sent to that address will
not be received by the lessee, also to such other address, if any,
known to the lessor where the lessee may reasonably be expected to
receive the notice.
   (d) The notice of belief of abandonment shall be in substantially
the following form:

           Notice of Belief of Abandonment
  To: _________________________
                           (Name of lessee/tenant)
  ____________________________
                        (Address of lessee/tenant)
  This notice is given pursuant to Section 1951.3
  of the Civil Code concerning the real property
  leased by you at ________ (state location of the
  property by address or other sufficient
  description). The rent on this property has been
  due and unpaid for 14 consecutive days and the
  lessor/landlord believes that you have abandoned
  the property.
  The real property will be deemed abandoned
  within the meaning of Section 1951.2 of the
  Civil Code and your lease will terminate on
  ________ (here insert a date not less than 15
  days after this notice is served personally or,
  if mailed, not less than 18 days after this
  notice is deposited in the mail) unless before
  such date the under signed receives at the
  address indicated below a written notice from
  you stating both of the following:
  (1) Your intent not to abandon the real property.
  (2) An address at which you may be served by
  certified mail in any action for unlawful
  detainer of the real property.
  You are required to pay the rent due and unpaid
  on this real property as required by the lease,
  and your failure to do so can lead to a court
  proceeding against you.
                 Dated: _______ ___________________
                                      (Signature of
                              _____________________
                              lessor/landlord)
      _____________________________________________
         (Type or print name of lessor/landlord)
         __________________________________________
         (Address to which lessee/tenant is to send
                                            _______
                                            notice)

   (e) The real property shall not be deemed to be abandoned pursuant
to this section if the lessee proves any of the following:
   (1) At the time the notice of belief of abandonment was given, the
rent was not due and unpaid for 14 consecutive days.
   (2) At the time the notice of belief of abandonment was given, it
was not reasonable for the lessor to believe that the lessee had
abandoned the real property. The fact that the lessor knew that the
lessee left personal property on the real property does not, of
itself, justify a finding that the lessor did not reasonably believe
that the lessee had abandoned the real property.
   (3) Prior to the date specified in the lessor's notice, the lessee
gave written notice to the lessor stating his intent not to abandon
the real property and stating an address at which he may be served by
certified mail in any action for unlawful detainer of the real
property.
   (4) During the period commencing 14 days before the time the
notice of belief of abandonment was given and ending on the date the
lease would have terminated pursuant to the notice, the lessee paid
to the lessor all or a portion of the rent due and unpaid on the real
property.
   (f) Nothing in this section precludes the lessor or the lessee
from otherwise proving that the real property has been abandoned by
the lessee within the meaning of Section 1951.2.
   (g) Nothing in this section precludes the lessor from serving a
notice requiring the lessee to pay rent or quit as provided in
Sections 1161 and 1162 of the Code of Civil Procedure at any time
permitted by those sections, or affects the time and manner of giving
any other notice required or permitted by law. The giving of the
notice provided by this section does not satisfy the requirements of
Sections 1161 and 1162 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Last modified: February 22, 2013