The answer depends on whether the property is controlled by or exempt from the Tenant Protection Act.
Letter to the Editor: My tenant is late on rent. How many days need to pass before I can file an unlawful detainer action?
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Real Estate Property Management
Discover the legal aspects of residential and commercial landlord-tenant relationships.
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Form-of-the-Week: Commercial lease agreements — Gross variety — 552 and 552-1
A landlord, tenant, leasing agent or property manager uses a Commercial Lease Agreement of the gross variety for projects with a single tenant or multiple tenants when the landlord retains the obligations to manage and pay for most or all property operating expenses such as property taxes, insurance and maintenance during the tenancy.
Increased protections for small commercial tenants
A qualified commercial tenant receives tenant protections, including a longer period of time for notice of an increase in rent and termination of tenancy, more documentation in a change of building operating costs charged the tenant and translation requirements when negotiating a lease agreement.
Needed Legislative Follow-Through – Foresight Dictates Prudence
Laws for consumer representation by DRE brokers need consistency. Litigation will pull in the courts to definitively establish the conduct required of tenant brokers to earn and collect a fee. In the meantime, brokers need to do everything in their power to protect the fee they and their agents expect to earn.
The Ambidextrous User of Commercial Property
See how the use of a written tenant representation agreement by the tenant broker assures collection of a fee whether the user acquires a fee or leasehold interest in a property — the tenant representation agreement covers the broker in both circumstances.
Users of Commercial Property Need Negotiated Written Representation, Too
2025 legislation requires a buyer agent to enter into a written representation agreement with their buyer seeking to acquire a fee interest in real estate. But is a commercial tenant’s acquisition of a leasehold interest also targeted? This three-part series is engineered to fully address every facet of this question commonly asked by our readers and students.
California household formations set to decrease
While the number of households continues to grow, the rise is mostly thanks to renters.
Buy an historic home, get a Mills Act subsidy
An owner or buyer of historic property in need of TLC can reduce their property tax by entering into a restoration and property tax agreement, called a Mills Act subsidy.
Form-of-the-Week: Commercial Lease Agreements — Net variety — Forms 552-2 and 552-3
A landlord, tenant, leasing agent or property manager uses a Commercial Lease Agreement of the net variety for a single-user tenant to document the terms of the tenancy negotiated when the payment of most or all property operating expenses including property taxes, insurance and maintenance incurred during the tenancy is shifted to the tenant.
Errata & Updates
The amount of security deposit residential landlords may charge have changed in 2024.
Read the new restrictions on residential security deposits.
06/25: The 2025 rules for buyer representation and fee-splitting avoidance are currently being edited into this e-book.
09/25: Updated that the three-day notice to pay rent or quit excludes weekends and court holidays.