Guide
In California and New York a termination notice must state a lawful cause — a correct date on a cause-less notice is still a defective notice.
Rules checked October 2026
In most states, ending a month-to-month tenancy is a calendar exercise: the right period, counted the right way, served the right way. In just-cause states there is a second gate in front of the calendar: the landlord must have, and must state, a cause the statute names.
The Tenant Protection Act (Civ. Code § 1946.2) covers most tenancies after 12 months. Causes divide into at-fault (nonpayment, lease violations, nuisance and the other listed grounds) and no-fault (owner move-in, withdrawal from the rental market, substantial remodel, and similar) — and no-fault terminations carry relocation duties. The termination period itself (30 days under a year, 60 at a year or more, § 1946.1) still applies; it is necessary, never sufficient. Many California cities add their own cause lists and forms on top.
New York’s 2024 good-cause law covers many unregulated tenancies, with exemptions, and applies most broadly in New York City and opt-in localities. A covered tenancy ends only on a statutory ground, and the notice must say which one. The § 226-c periods (30/60/90 by tenure) run alongside the cause requirement, not instead of it. Rent-stabilized units follow their own renewal and termination rules entirely.
For a termination in a just-cause state, the checker prints the period and the cause requirement together — never a bare date — and the kit’s letter builder holds the termination letter until a cause statement is added. That friction is the product working as intended: the cheapest termination is the one that is not dismissed.
The paper that goes with the date
The checker gives you the date. The kit gives you the notices: pay or quit, non-renewal / termination, and rent increase letters generated from these same checked deadlines, a letter builder that fills in your dates and names, the move-in and move-out inspection checklists, and the proof-of-service checklist.
One-time payment. No subscription. The checker stays free either way.