Notices in Marin County: the local rules

Each rule below links to the section of the Marin County Municipal Code it was read from, with the code text one click away (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

What Marin County's code says

Marin County code What Marin County's code adds
Filing a copy with the city	Yes, to the community development agency within 10 days of delivering it to the tenant. Applies: Notices of termination. § 5.100.050 · code text Landlords must provide a copy of the notice of termination to the community development agency within ten days of delivery to the tenant(s). Yes; the landlord must attach a copy of the rental agreement when submitting the notice. Applies: The landlord gives breach of the rental contract as the reason. § 5.100.050 · code text the landlord must attach a copy of the applicable rental agreement or contract to the notice of termination when submitting the notice of termination to the county.
What a notice must say	The notice must include the landlord's name and address where service of process will be accepted, the dwelling-unit location, the total notice length in days, the intended final occupancy date, the monthly rent at delivery and applicable final-rent due date, the tenancy beginning date and initial monthly rent, and one applicable termination cause. Applies: each notice of termination subject to this chapter § 5.100.050 · code text each notice of termination subject to this chapter must include the following information. An accurate translation in the language the rental agreement was negotiated in. Applies: The rental agreement was negotiated in a language other than English. § 5.100.050 · code text the Landlord is obligated to provide an accurate translation of the notice of termination in the language in which the rental agreement was negotiated. A tenant-rights notice describing the mediation service and how to request it. Applies: Given at lease signing or renewal, with every rent-increase notice, and when the county requires; a rent-increase notice without it is invalid. § 5.95.080 · code text When providing notice of a rent increase; English, Spanish and Vietnamese on the county's form, plus an accurate translation in the language the lease was negotiated in. Applies: All tenant-rights notices. § 5.95.080 · code text All notices provided under this section shall be provided in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, in the translated form made available by the county.
Notice to end a tenancy	120 days. Applies: The landlord is permanently removing the unit from the rental market. § 5.100.060 · code text must receive notice of the termination at least one hundred twenty days prior to the intended final date of occupancy under the tenancy.

The California rule underneath

Where Marin County's rule above does not cover a situation, state law still applies.

CA state law The statewide rule underneath
Notice of a rent increase	At least 30 days' notice for an increase of 10% or less; at least 90 days for an increase of more than 10% Applies: The 10% is measured against the rent charged at any time in the 12 months before the increase, counting all increases in that period together. Civ. Code § 827(b)(2), (b)(3)(A)
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy (landlord)	60 days' notice; 30 days if the tenant has lived there less than one year Applies: Where the unit is covered by just cause (Civ. Code § 1946.2) or a local ordinance, the notice must also state a qualifying cause. Civ. Code § 1946.1(b), (c)
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy (tenant)	At least as long as the rental period (one month for a month-to-month tenancy) Civ. Code § 1946.1(b)
30-day notice when the unit is sold to an owner-occupant	30 days' notice when a separately sellable unit is in escrow to a natural person who will live there for at least a year Applies: Notice within 120 days of opening escrow, given once, and all § 1946.1(d) conditions met. Civ. Code § 1946.1(d)
Notice to pay rent or quit	3 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays, stating the amount due and how to pay Applies: May be served any time within one year after the rent became due. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161(2)
Notice to cure a lease violation or quit	3 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays, to perform the broken lease term or leave Code Civ. Proc. § 1161(3)
No fee for serving notices	A landlord may not charge the tenant a fee for serving or posting a notice Civ. Code § 1946.1(i)

Who this affects

TenantsLandlordsProperty managers

Frequently asked questions

How much notice does a Marin County landlord have to give?

County rule: removing a unit permanently from the rental market needs 120 days' notice; termination notices go to the county within 10 days.

General information, not legal advice.

Notices in Marin County

Key points

What Marin County's code says

The California rule underneath

Who this affects

Frequently asked questions

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