Recently, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 2343, which amended Sections 1161 and 1167 of the California Code of Civil Procedure to give tenants more time to respond to notices and summons in connection with unlawful detainer (eviction) proceedings.
The bill amends the statutes to extend a tenant’s 3-day response periods in an unlawful detainer action to exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicially observed holidays (the current laws were based on calendar days).
For example, under the current statute, a tenant that receives a 3-day notice to cure or quit on the Thursday before Memorial Day would be required to respond by Tuesday. However, under the amended statute, the tenant would have until Wednesday to respond. Landlords should be aware of the new extended time periods when contemplating an unlawful detainer action and computing the time for the tenant to comply.
Likewise, a tenant served with summons and complaint on a Wednesday would now have until the following Wednesday to respond, instead of having to respond on Monday under the current law.
These changes will take effect on September 1, 2019.
