Q: is a text or verbal notice to vacate enforceable?
i want to move from where i've lived for the last year and a half. i haven't paid rent for july & now august. i know i breached the terms of the verbal rental agreement re rent, but there are mitigating circumstances that caused me to withhold the rental payments. I told the property manager (a co-tenant) I'd be vacating by " Saturday", "the beginning of the month", the "end of the month" but never did i set out a specific date. Communications were via text & there was one verbal exchange. She is threatening to remove my things, told me I can't have guests stay in my room (although she has had people move in without prior authorization), among other things. I told her that I am still a tenant there, that I will remain a tenant until the sheriff escorts me out. i told her to file an unlawful detainer, but it could take more than 60 days for her to legally evict me. I told her I will call the sheriff's department if she enters room or tampers with my things.
A: First of all there is no such thing as a "verbal tenancy." If it is not in writing and signed, it does not exist. secondly, a text message is probably not a sufficient "writing" to be a proper 3-day notice. If she files an "unlawful detainer" action against you, you can probably argue that you had no written tenancy, and you can argue that a an eviction notice by text message is not proper delivery of the Notice. I am not positive on that last point, but I would try it anyway.
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