Noticing Required by Landlords
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Required Notices
The City of Petaluma currently requires that Landlords who own property within the City of Petaluma provide tenants with the below notices when necessary.
This requirement of noticing is part of the City’s Residential Tenancy Protections (Tenant Protections) that took effect on October 12, 2022. These Petaluma Tenant Protections are enhanced protections in addition to California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (TPA) which took effect on January 1, 2020.
To learn more about the Tenant Protections in Petaluma, click here.
Notice of Tenant Rights: English | Español
This notice must be provided to tenants by the landlords when:
- Entering or renewing into a rental agreement; or
- Raising the rent; or
- If the City’s tenant protections are updated, tenants must be notified within 30 days; or
- Before and after selling the property where the tenant resides.
Notice of Termination: English | Español
This notice must be provided when the landlord needs to terminate a tenancy.
- The tenant “at-fault” justifications for terminating a tenancy permitted under the TPA include the following:
- Failure to pay rent: The tenant failed to pay rent within three days of receiving written notice from the landlord demanding payment.
- Breach of rental agreement: The tenant has violated the terms of the rental agreement, received notice, and did not comply.
- Tenant illegal activity: The tenant has been convicted of a crime or crimes involving unlawful use of the dwelling unit.
- Threat of violent crime: The tenant, or guest, threatens great bodily harm to anyone on the property.
- Nuisance: The tenant or tenant household continues to create or permit a nuisance after written notice to cease.
- Failure to Give Access: The tenant has refused to provide legal access to the landlord after written notice.
- The “No-fault” reasons for terminating a tenancy permitted under the TPA include the following and require additional noticing as noted below:
The above notices are required if tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied the rental unit within the City of Petaluma for:
- 6 months - when owner does not live on the same property as the tenant
- 12 months - when owner lives on the same property as the tenant or if the tenant rents an accessory or junior accessory dwelling unit.
Failure to provide these notices could affect your ability to raise rents or evict a tenant.
Landlords are required to provide an accurate translation of the Notice of Tenant Rights in the language that the rental agreement or lease was negotiated in.
Timing for Noticing
The Notice of Termination must be provided to the tenant at least:
- 3 days prior to move out date: for any tenant who fails to pay rent or fails to resolve issue(s) that breach the lease
- 30 days prior to move prior to move out date: for tenant living in unit for less than one year
- 60 days prior to move out date: for tenant living in unit for at least one year
- 120 days if the termination constitutes a “withdrawal from the rental market”
- 365 days if the termination constitutes a “withdrawal from the rental market” and at the request of the tenant (within 60 days of notice date) who has resided in the unit for at least a year and is over the age of 62 or is disabled.
- Timing dependent: if the termination constitutes a “withdrawal from the rental market” or “owner to occupy dwelling unit” and the household includes a child under the age of 18 or an educator, the move out date cited on the Notice of Termination may not be during their school year.
Please complete one per unit. If there are multiple people listed on the lease, please notify each person on lease.
Relocation Assistance
To see if relocation assistance is required when terminating a tenancy, view the chart on the Notice of Termination: English | Español
