I sent certified letter to my tenant with notice to vacate, and he didn't sign for it. What's next?

Generally, Notices to Vacate must be personally served. There are other methods of proper service , such as 'nail and mail', substitute service, and service by publication - but service by mail is not proper. I f you cannot easliy personaly serve the ternant, you shoul hire a Registered Process Server. It may cost abhout a $100 but it is well worth it. The Process Server's Proof of Service declaration is presumed valid and admissible in court at time of trial Richard A. Rodgers, Esq. (805) 230-2525 200 N. Westlake Blvd. Ste 201 Westlake Village, CA 91362 [email protected] www.sdresq.com

It is valid service to post a copy of the notice on the door of the unit and also mail a copy by plain old first class mail. Certified mail is a waste of time and money because any savvy tenant will refuse to sign for the letter. Using a registered process server is expensive and also unnecessary when you can post it on the door and mail a copy for a small fraction of the cost of a process server.

Have a process server serve the tenant personally with the eviction paperwork.