C.A.R. Form NTT, the California Association of Realtors’ Notice of Termination of Tenancy, is the standard form landlords use to tell a residential tenant in writing that the tenancy will end on a specific date and for a specific legal reason. Filling it out correctly is the first step in a sequence that can end in an unlawful detainer lawsuit if the tenant doesn’t leave, so every entry on the form has to match what California law requires. The form is available through C.A.R. and the zipForms platform.1
Work the form in this order: confirm you have a valid reason to terminate, count the notice period against your service method, complete the form, serve it under the statutory rules, and keep a signed proof of service. Each step has traps that can invalidate the notice.
Pick a Legally Valid Reason First
Under California’s Tenant Protection Act, if a tenant has lived in the property continuously for 12 months or more, you need “just cause” to end the tenancy. Civil Code Section 1946.2 defines two categories, and the one you pick drives the notice period, the required disclosures, and whether you owe relocation money.
At-Fault Just Cause
At-fault reasons are things the tenant did. Section 1946.2 lists nonpayment of rent, a material lease violation after a written notice to cure, nuisance or waste, criminal activity on the property or criminal threats against the owner or owner’s agent, unauthorized subletting, refusal to allow lawful entry, unlawful use of the property, refusal to sign a renewal on similar terms after a written lease expiring on or after January 1, 2020, and failure to vacate after the tenant gave notice and the owner accepted. At-fault terminations don’t require relocation assistance and typically use shorter cure-or-quit periods (three days for nonpayment, for example) rather than the 30- or 60-day periods below.
No-Fault Just Cause
No-fault reasons reflect the owner’s circumstances: intent for the owner or a spouse, domestic partner, child, grandchild, parent, or grandparent to move in as a primary residence for at least 12 months; permanent withdrawal of the unit from the rental market under the Ellis Act; compliance with a government or court order requiring the unit to be vacated; or substantial remodel or demolition that makes it unsafe for the tenant to remain. No-fault terminations trigger a relocation obligation, covered below.
When Just Cause Doesn’t Apply
Section 1946.2 exempts several property types from the just cause rule, including owner-occupied single-family homes renting out no more than two units or bedrooms (including ADUs); owner-occupied duplexes where the owner lived in one unit when the tenancy began and still does; units with a certificate of occupancy issued within the previous 15 years (except mobilehomes); separately titled single-family homes not owned by a corporation, REIT, or LLC with a corporate member, but only if the tenant received the specific written exemption notice; shared-kitchen or shared-bathroom arrangements with an owner living on the property; and certain institutional housing such as dormitories, hospital housing, and residential care facilities. If your property is exempt, you still need proper written notice under Civil Code Section 1946.1, and Form NTT can still carry it, but you don’t have to state a just cause.
Count the Notice Period Correctly
Civil Code Section 1946.1 sets the baseline by tenant occupancy length:
- Less than one year of occupancy: at least 30 days’ notice before the termination date.
- One year or more of occupancy: at least 60 days’ notice before the termination date.
There is a narrow 30-day exception for longer tenancies: the property is a separately titled single-family home, the owner has opened escrow with a bona fide buyer who is a natural person intending to live there for at least a year, and the notice is given within 120 days of escrow opening.
Service by mail adds days. Under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013, mailing within California adds five calendar days, mailing from or to another state adds ten, and international mailing adds twenty. Build those days into the termination date. A 60-day notice mailed within California should carry a termination date at least 65 days out. A termination date that misses the statutory minimum by even one day is the most common reason these notices get thrown out.
Filling Out the Form
The layout shifts between revisions, but the required content is stable.
List the full legal names of every adult occupant named on the lease. If other adults are living there without being on the lease, address the notice to those named tenants and “all occupants.” Enter the complete property address, including unit number and zip code. A wrong unit number or a missing apartment designation gives a tenant grounds to attack the notice later.
Enter the termination date. Count from the day after you expect to serve, not the day of service, and add any mailing days required by Section 1013.
Check the correct box for your reason. No-fault terminations require extra content:
- Owner or family move-in: the notice must name the person moving in and state their relationship to the owner. The tenant can ask for proof of the relationship, and you must provide it.
- Substantial remodel or demolition: the notice must describe the planned work, estimate how long it will take, attach the required permits, and include the statutory statement about the tenant’s right to re-rent if the remodel isn’t completed.
- Withdrawal from the rental market: you must also comply with the Ellis Act’s separate notice and local filing requirements.
For any no-fault termination, the notice must also tell the tenant about their right to relocation assistance or a rent waiver. Omitting that language can invalidate the notice entirely.
Serving the Notice
Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162 sets out three methods, and they must be attempted in order. You can’t jump to an easier method because it’s more convenient. Anyone over 18 who isn’t a party to the action can serve the notice; the landlord doesn’t have to do it personally.
Personal Service
Hand the notice directly to the tenant. The notice clock starts immediately with no mailing days added. This is the cleanest method.
Substituted Service
If the tenant isn’t home and isn’t at their usual workplace, the server can leave the notice with another person of suitable age and discretion at either place, and must also mail a second copy to the tenant’s home address by first-class mail. Both the handoff and the mailing are required; skipping the mailing invalidates service.
Post and Mail
Only when the tenant can’t be found and no suitable person is available at the home or workplace. Affix the notice to a conspicuous spot on the property (the front door is standard) and mail a copy to the tenant at the property address. If anyone is living there, hand them a copy too.
Proof of Service
The server, not the landlord, should immediately complete the proof of service on the form or a separate declaration, recording date, time, location, and method, and signing under penalty of perjury. Without this document, a judge later has no evidence that the tenant received the notice.
Relocation Assistance for No-Fault Terminations
For any no-fault reason, you owe the tenant relocation assistance equal to one month of the rent in effect when you served the notice. Civil Code Section 1946.2 gives you two options: pay the tenant directly within 15 calendar days of serving the notice, or waive the final month’s rent in writing. If you waive, the notice has to state the dollar amount waived and make clear no rent is due for the last month. The obligation applies regardless of the tenant’s income.
Owner-move-in terminations carry an added condition. If the intended occupant doesn’t actually move in within 90 days and stay for at least 12 consecutive months, you must offer the unit back to the displaced tenant at the same rent and reimburse reasonable moving costs beyond the relocation assistance already paid.
After the Notice Period Expires
If the tenant moves out, you have 21 calendar days under Civil Code Section 1950.5 to return the security deposit or send an itemized statement of deductions with supporting documentation. Missing that deadline or skipping the itemization can expose you to a penalty of up to twice the deposit.
If the tenant stays past the termination date, the notice itself does not evict them. You file an unlawful detainer in the superior court for the county where the property sits, using Judicial Council Form UD-100 and paying the filing fee. The court issues a summons; the tenant has five days (including weekends but excluding court holidays) to file an answer. Uncontested cases often run four to six weeks from filing to a sheriff’s lockout; contested cases take longer.
When the case reaches a judge, Form NTT gets scrutinized line by line: names, address, termination date, just cause reason, notice period, method of service, and, for no-fault terminations, proof that relocation assistance was offered. A defect in any of those sends you back to the start of the notice process.