Orange County Register

This column is being presented by the South Coast Apartment Association 949.955.3695.  Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John, which specialize in landlord/tenant, collections and business and real estate. For questions regarding the contents of this article, call 800-338-6039 or visit www.kts-law.com

Question: There is a very loud tenant in the apartment building across the alley from our rental.  I have asked them to quiet down on numerous occasions and have even called the police. They keep playing their music late at night and into the wee hours of the morning.  What else can we do?

Answer: You should continue to contact the police when unreasonable disturbances occur and consider contacting the owner of the property to inform him or her of the situation.  The owner may not be aware of the problem.

Question: After a lease expires and it is month-to-month, how much notice must a tenant give me in order to legally terminate the lease?  He says one week.  Is this true?

Answer: In California, 30-days written notice is required to terminate a month-to-month tenancy and can be served by either party at any time during the tenancy.  If all of the occupants have been in possession for one year or longer, you must serve a 60-day notice.

Question: Someone told me that if a resident is committing a crime on the premises they can be evicted in 3 days.  I have never heard of this law and I rent to someone I suspect is dealing in drugs.  Can you tell me more about it?

Answer: California law does allow an owner or manager of rental property to serve a 3-day notice to quit the premises based upon the commission of an illegal act on the property.  The illegal conduct must, however, relate to the rented property.  For instance, if your tenant was dealing with or possessed illegal drugs on the premises, you could serve the 3-day notice.  If the tenant failed to quit, an unlawful detainer action could be filed in court to recover possession.

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