Who Gives Notice of Moving Out

My question involves an eviction in the state of: California


I rent a room in a home where my landlord also lives in. I received a lot of surprised speculations on the house being in the market when i received text messages from my landlord's daughter that I should leave my door unlocked because there will be an open house or a realtor has a meeting with a client to showcase the house. My speculations were right when I get poor communication from another roommate that the house is pending sold to a couple that will move in sometime in October.

I was communicated that we all should leave before October 1st. So i found a new place and slowly started packing. I then receive a new text message reminding me that today is the 1st and that they have the place until December. I'm pretty frustrated with the poor communication that i am receiving, so i want to just leave this place already.

My contract is verbal, but also written via Text Message of my month-to-month dues. $720 monthly with a $200 security deposit. With my plans for my new place, I do not want to pay this month's rent. Doing a lot of research here, If i got it correctly, I get 30-days to leave. Do I write a written memo stating my 30 days or is the responsibility of the landlord? I even plan on leaving before the 30 days, if I leave with the room looking clean, will I receive my $200 deposit back?

Thank you in advance for the help!

- - - Updated - - -

I communicate to my landlord that today will be the start of my 30 days. Then i get a response back that I will still need to pay for September's rent and when i leave i'll only get my deposit back. I thought getting this 30-day notice, I don't pay anything at all? Or do i pay for only the days that i occupy the room?

You have a periodic tenancy. This is what you need to do to terminate this type of tenancy in California:

"California Tenants, A Guide to Residential Tenants' and Landlords' Rights and Responsibilities

Giving and Receiving Proper Notice

Tenant's notice to end a periodic tenancy

To end a periodic rental agreement (for example, a month-to-month agreement), you must give your landlord proper written notice before you move.

You must give the landlord the same amount of notice as there are days between rent payments.193 This means that if you pay rent monthly, you must give the landlord written notice at least 30 days before you move. If you pay rent every week, you must give the landlord written notice at least seven days before you move.194 This is true even if the landlord has given you a 60-day notice to end the rental agreement and you want to leave sooner (see Landlord's notice to end a periodic tenancy.)195

If your rental agreement specifies a different amount of notice (for example 10 days), you must give the landlord written notice as required by the agreement.196

To avoid later disagreements, date the notice, state the date that you intend to move, and make a copy of the notice for yourself. It's best to deliver the notice to the landlord or property manager in person, or mail it by certified mail with return receipt requested. (You can also serve the notice by one of the methods described under "Proper Service of Notices".)197

You can give the landlord notice any time during the rental period, but you must pay full rent during the period covered by the notice. For example, say you have a month-to-month rental agreement, and pay rent on the first day of each month. You could give notice any time during the month (for example, on the tenth). Then, you could leave 30 days later (on the tenth of the following month, or earlier if you chose to). But you would have to pay rent for the first 10 days of the next month whether you stay for those 10 days or move earlier. (Exception: You would not have to pay rent for the entire 10 days if you left earlier, and the landlord rented the unit to another tenant during the 10 days, and the new tenant paid rent for all or part of the 10 days.)"


Why would you believe you can live there through the month of September and not owe rent for this month? Were you planning on leaving earlier based on what you state you were told earlier? If so, did you and the landlord discuss a particular date you would be vacating?

Gail