30-Day Notice Definition

In a month-to-month tenancy or tenancy at will, the notice from a landlord to a tenant to leave the premises within 30 days; or the notice by a landlord advising of a change in tenancy terms (such as a rent increase) that will take effect in 30 days; or the notice from a tenant to a landlord that the tenant intends to leave in 30 days. Unless the tenancy is governed by rent control or other tenant protection laws, the landlord's notice does not need to state a reason for the landlord's action, although it must typically meet specific state rules as to preparing and serving notice. The landlord's service of the notice and the tenant's failure to vacate at the end of 30 days provides the basis for a lawsuit for an unlawful detainer or eviction lawsuit and a court judgment ordering the tenant to leave.