3. What are the differences in the time requirements when you "nail and mail" a legal rental notice versus "personal service"?
 

Personal service, which involves the act of handing the tenant a legal notice, should always be attempted first. Good practice dictates that you try to serve the tenant initially at the residence, and then at any work/employment address that is known to you. You may also serve a "person of suitable age and discretion at either place" and then mail a copy of the notice to the tenant at the residence if you cannot find the tenant at home or at work. This is called "substitute service" and is an equally acceptable means to serve a tenant as personal service. A "suitable person" usually means a competent adult and not children.
 

Only if the tenant's place of residence and business cannot be ascertained, and substituted service has been attempted, can you resort to the "nail and mail" method. Nail and mail is only available if the tenant's places of residence and business are un-locatable or a suitable person cannot be found at either location to accept substituted service. Nail and mail requires properly posting of the notice on the front door of the rental unit or other conspicuous place at the property AND delivering a copy of the notice to the tenant if the tenant can be found AND mailing the notice via first class mail to the residence. All three steps must be accomplished to effectuate proper nail and mail service.
 

The time period of a 3-day legal notice begins to run the day AFTER proper service is completed. For personal and substituted service, the three-day period begins the day after you hand the notice to the tenant (personal service) and the day after you served a suitable adult and mailed the notice (substituted service). Likewise, for nail and mail, start counting the three days after both the posting and mailing have been completed. In the past, the law was unsettled with regard to the post and mail timeline in that some courts held that the time period was extended by 5 days for mailing. Not anymore; rather, a 3-day notice served by nail and mail is effective on the date of posting and mailing, and there is no extension of time.
 

Remember that if the final day of the notice period falls on a holiday, Saturday or Sunday, the notice period expires at the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. Thus, if service is completed on Thursday, the tenant has until the end of the day on Monday (assuming Monday is not a holiday) to cure, and the eviction complaint cannot be filed until Tuesday. Finally, remember that tenants and subtenants must be separately served with the notice in order to have legal effect on all of the occupants; however, proper service on a cotenant equates to proper service on the other named cotenants in the rental agreement. In places like San Francisco, the distinction between cotenants and subtenants is blurred by the local rent laws; therefore, it is advisable to make sure that you have properly and separately served all known adult tenants so as to avoid problems with the subsequent legal action.
 

Finally, for 30/60 day legal notices, you may use any of the above-described methods for service. Alternatively, and only for 30/60 day notices, the law allows you to perform service via certified or registered mail. Although not expressly required, you should request return receipt in order to prove the tenant's actual receipt. The timeline for this type of service begins 30 or 60 days after you deposit the notice into the mail. Unfortunately, the law is still unclear as to whether or not the tenant gets an additional 5-day period. Many professionals play it safe and allow an extra five-day extension before taking legal action premised on a 30/60 day notice that was served by certified or registered mail. As stated above, the best way to serve any notice is by personal service, and preferably by a court-registered process server who knows the procedures and can testify in court if required.

Dave Wasserman