Landlords are required to provide a tenants with formal legal notice to vacate premises before they can file an unlawful detainer action case. The tenant must receive written notice of the reason they are being evicted. The reason can be for non-payment of rent, noise, illegal activity or simply because the landlord want to terminate their month-to-month agreement. If the tenant has lived in the property for less than one year, the landlord must provide a tenant with a 30-day notice. If the tenant has resided in the rental for more than one year, the tenant must be provided with 60-days notice to vacate. The notice must be properly served on the tenant and the deadline to cure (or fix) the problem (if it can be fixed) must expire before an unlawful detainer complaint is filed. If the tenant resides in a county or city that has rent control, there may be other steps required.