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No. They are two separate Civil Code sections that a covered notice has to satisfy at the same time. Section 1946.1 supplies the timing, at subdivisions (b) and (c). Section 1946.2 supplies the substance: a just cause stated in the notice, the relocation payment or final-month rent waiver owed on no-fault grounds, the mandatory content for owner move-in and substantial-remodel notices, and the exemption list. Neither section sits in the Code of Civil Procedure, which carries the unlawful detainer statutes instead. The practical consequence is that a notice can count the days perfectly and still be void for what it fails to state.

Civil Code § 1946.2(a) requires the just cause to be stated in the written notice to terminate the tenancy — a reason held privately is not enough. Subdivision (b) splits just cause into at-fault grounds (default in rent, a material lease breach, nuisance, waste, criminal activity, refusing lawful entry) and no-fault grounds (owner or family move-in, withdrawal from the rental market, a government or court order, demolition or substantial remodel). Several no-fault grounds carry their own mandatory content: an owner move-in notice must name the intended occupant and their relationship to the owner, and a substantial-remodel notice must describe the work and include the permit or, in narrow cases, the signed contract.

The owner chooses between two forms of it. Civil Code § 1946.2(d)(1) provides that for a no-fault termination the owner shall, regardless of the tenant’s income and at the owner’s option, either assist the tenant by making a direct payment or waive in writing the payment of rent for the final month of the tenancy before that rent becomes due. Either way the amount equals one month of the tenant’s rent in effect when the notice was issued, and a direct payment must be provided within 15 calendar days of service of the notice. Subdivision (d)(4) renders the notice void if the owner fails to comply strictly.

State law can step aside entirely, and Civil Code § 1946.2(i) says when. Where the property is subject to a local just-cause ordinance adopted on or before September 1, 2019, the local ordinance applies instead. Where an ordinance was adopted or amended after that date and is more protective — meaning its just cause is consistent with § 1946.2, it further limits the reasons for termination, raises relocation amounts or adds tenant protections, and the local government has made a binding finding in the ordinance that it is more protective — the local ordinance again applies. Subdivision (i)(2) says a property is never subject to both.

No. Civil Code § 1946.2(a) starts from 12 months of continuous and lawful occupancy, then adds a second test where adult tenants were added to the lease. If any additional adult tenant was added before an existing tenant had occupied for 24 months, the just-cause requirement applies only if all of the tenants have occupied for 12 months or more, or one or more tenants has occupied for 24 months or more. A household that added a roommate in month ten can therefore sit outside the requirement until an original tenant crosses 24 months. Count each tenant’s occupancy separately before assuming a stated cause is required.

The consequence is stronger than losing the case. Civil Code § 1946.2(g) provides that an owner’s failure to comply with any provision of the section renders the written termination notice void, and § 1946.2(d)(4) says the same specifically for the relocation or rent-waiver rules. Subdivision (h) adds a civil action in which the owner is liable for actual damages, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in the court’s discretion, and up to three times actual damages plus punitive damages on a showing that the owner acted willfully or with oppression, fraud or malice. The Attorney General, a city attorney or county counsel may also seek injunctive relief.

No. Civil Code § 1946.2(n) states that the section remains in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed by its own provisions. The version now in force became operative April 1, 2024 and was most recently amended by AB 1529 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 203), effective January 1, 2026. California sunset dates are frequently extended by later legislation, so treat 2030 as the current statutory end date rather than a settled one, and re-read the section text before relying on it for a termination dated anywhere near that year.

Not without limit. Civil Code § 1947.12(a)(1) caps an increase over any 12-month period at 5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower, measured against the lowest gross rental rate charged for that dwelling at any time during the 12 months before the increase takes effect. Subdivision (a)(2) allows no more than two increments in a 12-month period while the same tenant remains. The exemptions in § 1947.12(d) closely track those in § 1946.2(e), so a unit exempt from just cause is usually exempt from the cap — but confirm both, and check your city’s own rent-control ordinance.