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     Serving your tenant with a 3 Day Notice informs them that they have 3 days to pay the overdue rent they owe you, or they have to move out. A three day notice can be delivered as soon as payment is past due, and in most states is required before a landlord tenant action can begin. If you have a lease, you should read it to determine what day of the week the rent is officially due, and to confirm the lease doesn’t specify a different length of notice before initiating an evictions proceeding (i.e. a 30 day notice).

     Calculating the 3-day period incorrectly when giving the notice or filing the case in court before the expiration of the 3-day time period can very likely result in your case being dismissed. Weekends and holidays observed by the Clerk of Courts should not be included when calculating the 3-day time period. Example: a three day notice served on Tuesday, July 3 would expire on Monday, July 9, because you would not count holidays (July 4), or weekends (Saturday, and Sunday). So make sure you don’t begin your evictions proceeding before the expiration of the 3 day notice period, or your evictions proceeding will be dismissed.

     You can only request rent amounts that are past due in your three day notice. Do not include a demand for money that is not “rent”, such as utilities, security deposits, late fees or other costs. If you have a lease in effect with your tenant and any of the preceding costs are defined as “additional rent” in the lease, then you may include it in the amount due in the three day notice. If you list items other than rent in your three day notice or money that is not due yet (future rent), your evictions action can be thrown out by the court. 

     The 3-day notice should be personally delivered to the tenant. In some states, verbal notification is sufficient (i.e. it is not necessary to give your tenant written notice if you verbally tell them they have to pay rent or move out within 3 days). A landlord tenant lawyer in your area such as landlord tenant lawyer long island can advise you of your state’s laws via e-mail or telephone.  

     If personal service is not an option, you can also mail the 3-day notice to your tenants.  However, please note that you usually must add 5 days each way for mail time, depending on your court’s requirements.  In other words if you use the mail to deliver an eviction notice suffolk county, you have to allow 13 days before commencing an evictions proceeding (three days + 5 days + five days). 

     There are some circumstances where delivering the notice via mail is the only option or where the tenant will always be allowed to use the mail to respond to a 3-day notice. This typically happens when the landlord uses a P.O. Box or an out-of-town address for the tenant to pay rent.

     If your tenant pays you the full amount of money due as per your 3-day notice, you must accept the payment, and you can no longer evict the tenant for non-payment of rent. If the tenant only has part of the rent, you do not have to accept it. If you accept partial payment of some of the money due, then the three day notice has been partly complied with, and you can no longer oust the tenant for non-payment of rent. If you accept rent and you would still like to get rid of your tenants, instead of bringing a non-payment eviction proceeding, you must bring what’s called a holdover eviction proceeding. You should consult with a landlord tenant lawyer in your state for more information on the requirements to bringing a holdover proceeding.

     If there are any defects in your three Day Notice, or if you bring an incorrect type of evictions proceeding, courts such as the landlord tenant court long island will dismiss your case. If you’re not from Suffolk County or Nassau County, consult with your county’s court for their procedure. The consequence of a dismissal is that a new and correct three day notice must be correctly served, and the action has to be started again from scratch.  This allows the tenants to remain in the property for up to months longer than necessary. 

     Another possible result to bringing a defective eviction proceeding is that you may be held liable to your tenants for legal fees and costs associated with defending the evictions action. This is why it is almost always preferred to hire a professional to handle the matter for you as quickly and expeditiously as possible. Good luck!