Cal. Civ. Code § 12
Notice to determine estate at will
Operative Text
Section 12. Estates at will may be determined by either party by three months' notice in writing for that purpose given to the other party; and, if the rent reserved is payable at periods of less than three months, the time of such notice shall be sufficient if it is equal to the interval between the days of payment or thirty days, whichever is longer. Such written notice may include an offer to establish a new tenancy for the same premises on terms different from that of the tenancy being terminated and the validity of such written notice shall not be affected by the inclusion of such offer. In case of neglect or refusal to pay the rent due from a tenant at will, fourteen days' notice to quit, given in writing by the landlord to the tenant, shall be sufficient to determine the tenancy; provided, that the tenancy of a tenant who has not received a similar notice from the landlord within the twelve months next preceding the receipt of such notice shall not be determined if the tenant, within ten days after the receipt thereof, pays or tenders to the landlord, the landlord's attorney, or the person to whom the tenant customarily pays rent, the full amount of any rent due. Every notice to determine an estate at will for nonpayment of rent shall contain the following notification to the tenant: ''If you have not received a notice to quit for nonpayment of rent within the last twelve months, you have a right to prevent termination of your tenancy by paying or tendering to your landlord, your landlord's attorney or the person to whom you customarily pay your rent the full amount of rent due within ten days after your receipt of this notice.'' If any notice to determine an estate at will for nonpayment of rent shall fail to contain such notification, the time within which the tenant receiving the notice would be entitled to pay or tender rent pursuant to this section shall be extended to the day the answer is due in any action by the landlord to recover possession of the premises. Failure to include such notice shall not otherwise affect the validity of the said notice. If the neglect or refusal to pay the rent due was caused by a failure or delay of the federal government, the commonwealth or any municipality, or any departments, agencies or authorities thereof, in the mailing or delivery of any subsistence or rental payment, check or voucher other than a salary payment to either the tenant or the landlord, the court in any action for possession shall continue the hearing not less than seven days in order to furnish notice of such action to the appropriate agency and shall, if all rent due with interest and costs of suit has been tendered to the landlord within such time, treat the tenancy as not having been terminated.
Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186 § 12 governs how a tenancy at will — a month-to-month or similarly informal rental arrangement — can be ended by either the landlord or the tenant. For ordinary terminations, the required written notice period is generally three months, though it may be shorter when rent is paid more frequently, with a floor of thirty days. When the reason for termination is unpaid rent, a shorter fourteen-day written notice is permitted, but the notice must include specific language informing the tenant of a right to cure the nonpayment; if that language is missing, the tenant's window to pay and preserve the tenancy is extended to the answer date in any court proceeding.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186 § 12, operators of at-will tenancies generally provide written termination notices that meet the minimum time periods set by the statute — three months for standard terminations, or a period tied to the rent-payment interval with a thirty-day floor. When issuing a fourteen-day notice to quit for nonpayment of rent, a compliant notice includes the verbatim cure-right notification required by § 12, because omitting it extends the tenant's right to pay through the court answer date. Landlords also track whether a similar nonpayment notice was served within the prior twelve months, since a tenant who has not received one retains a ten-day right to pay in full and avoid termination.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186 § 12 gives tenants at will important protections when facing termination. If you receive a fourteen-day notice to quit for nonpayment of rent and have not received a similar notice in the past twelve months, the statute provides a ten-day window after receipt to pay or tender the full rent owed and prevent the tenancy from ending; if the notice omits the required cure-right language, that window extends to the answer date in any eviction action. Tenants who believe a notice does not comply with § 12 — or whose nonpayment resulted from a delay in a government subsidy or rental assistance payment — may raise those issues as a defense in a court proceeding or seek guidance from a local tenant-rights organization or legal aid office.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 13, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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