Ten Notice Defects That Kill Evictions Before Trial

UD cases are built on the notice like a house on a foundation. These recurring defects — amount errors, time miscounts, missing elements — collapse cases every week in California courtrooms.

What California Law Says

The notice must be strictly accurate: correct rent within one year, court-day counting, complete payment information, proper just cause statement where AB 1482 applies, required local ordinance language, and service executed by the statutory methods. Substantial compliance arguments fail against most of these.

How to Protect Yourself, Step by Step

1. Overstated rent: any padding with fees, deposits, or utilities.
2. Stale rent: demands reaching beyond one year.
3. Miscounted days: weekends and holidays counted against you.
4. Missing payment details: no person, address, phone, or hours.
5. No just cause stated on a covered tenancy, or missing relocation assistance on no-fault notices — plus defective service, premature filing before the notice expired, wrong notice type for the violation, missing local ordinance disclosures, and unsigned or unauthorized notices.

Common Questions

My landlord filed the UD on the last day of the notice period. Valid?

Premature — the notice must fully expire before filing, and a same-day filing is a recognized defect worth pleading.

How do I raise defects: motion or answer?

Facial defects support a demurrer or motion; factual defects go in the answer as affirmative defenses — the kit’s checklist maps each defect to its vehicle.