Protected Early Lease-Termination Notice - California

PROTECTED EARLY LEASE-TERMINATION NOTICE

State: California

Safety first. Do not use an account, device, mailing address, or delivery method the adverse person can monitor. Call emergency services if there is immediate danger. This notice requests only information needed for the statutory route; do not add a detailed history of abuse.

1. Tenant, Landlord, and Lease

2. Notice of Protected Termination

I notify the Landlord that I am using the protected early-termination route described in Section 10. I or a person covered through me meets the state-specific eligibility rule, and I reasonably request release from future obligations as provided by that rule.

I am not providing a perpetrator's name or incident narrative in this notice. Any state-required identifying or incident information appears only in the permitted supporting document and is redacted or limited as Section 10 directs.

3. Date and Deadline Calculator

Do not use the requested date until Section 10 has been applied to the actual delivery method, rent interval, and documentation date.

4. Supporting Document

Attach only a document allowed by Section 10:

☐ Protection / no-contact order
☐ Law-enforcement or court record
☐ Qualified-third-party document
☐ Health-care or victim-services document expressly allowed by state law
☐ Other state-enumerated document: [________________________________]

Document date: [__/__/____]

Redactions completed: ☐ Yes ☐ Not permitted/needed

No medical record, diagnosis, therapy notes, full police file, or extra incident narrative is included unless the state-specific rule expressly requires it and counsel confirms the scope.

5. Vacancy, Rent, Deposit, and Property

I will surrender possession as required by the state route. I request a written ledger showing:

• rent through the lawful termination or release date;
• credits and prepaid rent;
• any security-deposit accounting;
• separately identified pre-termination balances; and
• no lease-break fee or future rent beyond what the state route permits.

Personal property left behind:

☐ None expected
☐ Instructions attached
☐ State-specific property instructions in Section 10 apply

6. Cotenants, Occupants, and Guarantors

Other tenants / occupants: [________________________________]

Guarantor, if any: [________________________________]

This notice does not guess whether another tenant, occupant, or guarantor is released. Apply the exact state rule and obtain a written account of who remains liable. Do not send this notice to an adverse cotenant unless the state rule or a court requires it and a safety plan is in place.

7. Safe Communications and Forwarding Address

Safe contact method:

☐ Email: [________________________________]
☐ Phone / text: [________________________________]
☐ Advocate or attorney: [________________________________]
☐ Mail to safe address: [________________________________]

Forwarding-address choice:

☐ Use the safe address above only for deposit/accounting mail.
☐ I will provide a forwarding address later.
☐ Send statutory financial notices through my attorney/advocate.
☐ Do not disclose my relocation address to any cotenant, occupant, adverse party, reference caller, or third party except with my written consent or as law requires.

8. Confidential Handling Request

Mark this notice and every attachment CONFIDENTIAL — RESTRICTED ACCESS. Limit access to personnel who must process the request. Do not place protected information in ordinary maintenance notes, tenant-screening comments, shared databases, or reference responses.

Return or securely destroy excess copies after the retention period required by law or counsel. These instructions supplement, and do not narrow, any mandatory state confidentiality rule.

9. Delivery Record

Method used:

☐ Hand delivery
☐ First-class mail
☐ Certified or tracked mail
☐ State-authorized electronic method
☐ Court-directed or other method: [________________________________]

Delivered to: [________________________________]

Delivery address / account: [________________________________]

Tracking, witness, receipt, or screenshot retained: ☐ Yes

10. California Route — Civil Code § 1946.7

This route covers the tenant, a household member, or an immediate family member who was a victim of domestic violence, specified sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder or dependent-adult abuse, a crime causing bodily injury or death, a crime involving a firearm or deadly weapon, or a crime involving force or a threat of force.

Attach one permitted item:

☐ qualifying protective order;
☐ state or local law-enforcement report;
☐ documentation from a qualified third party in the substantially prescribed form; or
☐ other documentation that reasonably verifies the qualifying act or crime.

The notice must be given within the statutory window: generally 180 days from the qualifying order, report, or act/crime, or within the applicable Civil Code § 1946 period. The tenant remains responsible for no more than 14 calendar days of rent after notice, or a shorter applicable period; earlier reletting prorates that amount. Non-victim cotenants are not automatically released.

A landlord may not disclose information provided under § 1946.7 unless the tenant consents in writing or disclosure is required by law or court order. In the qualified-third-party form, identify the person who committed the incident only if known and safe to provide.

11. Tenant Signature

I certify that the statements I made in this notice are true to the best of my knowledge. I understand that the attached documentation and state-specific route control the effective date and financial result.

Tenant signature: ________________________________

Printed name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

OPTIONAL CALIFORNIA QUALIFIED-THIRD-PARTY ATTACHMENT

Use organization letterhead. This attachment tracks the substantially prescribed form in Civil Code § 1946.7(b)(3); California counsel or a qualified advocate should confirm the completed version before delivery.

Part I — Tenant statement

I, [________________________________], state that I, a member of my household, or an immediate family member has been a victim of:

☐ Domestic violence ☐ Sexual assault ☐ Stalking ☐ Human trafficking
☐ Elder/dependent-adult abuse ☐ Crime causing bodily injury or death
☐ Crime involving a firearm/deadly weapon ☐ Crime involving force or threatened force

Most recent incident date(s): [________________________________]

Person(s) who committed the incident and physical description, only if known and safe to provide: [________________________________]

Tenant signature: ________________________________ Date: [__/__/____]

Part II — Qualified third-party statement

I, [________________________________], am acting as a qualified third party in my professional capacity as:

☐ Sexual assault counselor ☐ Domestic violence counselor
☐ Human trafficking caseworker ☐ Victim of violent crime advocate
☐ Licensed health practitioner: [________________________________]

Business address and phone: [________________________________]

The tenant or qualifying person informed me that the person was a victim of the selected act or crime and identified the incident date(s). I understand this document may be used to terminate a rental agreement under Civil Code § 1946.7.

Qualified third-party signature: ________________________________ Date: [__/__/____]

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• California Legislative Information — Civil Code § 1946.7