What should I do if I get an eviction notice in California?

Read the notice type and count the days — most pay-or-quit and cure periods run in court days, excluding weekends and judicial holidays (Code of Civil Procedure section 1161). Gather the lease, payment records, and photos, contact legal aid immediately, and never ignore a later unlawful detainer summons: response windows are measured in days.

Act on the notice the day it arrives, because every later deadline is shorter. First identify the type: pay rent or quit, cure a lease violation, quit for serious misconduct, or a 30- or 60-day termination notice. For pay-or-quit and cure notices, California counts court days, excluding weekends and judicial holidays (Code of Civil Procedure section 1161), and paying the full demanded rent within the period ends the matter. Meanwhile, assemble the record — the lease, rent receipts and bank records, photographs of conditions, and every written exchange with the landlord — and check whether the tenancy is covered by the Tenant Protection Act's just-cause rules (Civil Code section 1946.2) or a stricter local ordinance. If an unlawful detainer summons follows, the response deadline is ten court days (section 1167), and a defective notice is itself a defense. Free help exists through court self-help centers and legal aid; tenants who lose by default are usually the ones who waited.

Authority: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161