Clarifying dates on a notice to quit tenant in Jamaica

QUESTION: Dear Legal Wiz,

I served a notice on a tenant that my wife brought into my property. The court said it was bad and wrote another one by filling in the little forms that you buy in the bookstore. When I went to take out the summons, another court staff worker told me the second notice was bad because of the dates. Now that’s two months gone already, and I cant just pick up plane tickets to travel back and forth. Meantime this man is in my house being a nuisance. The rent is due on the first of the month, and the last notice was written to expire on the first of January. Please tell me what to write.

Shan Morgan

RESPONSE: Dear Mr Morgan,
If you bought a notice form in the book store, bear in mind that the top portion should read as a paragraph. So reading from the top of the form, the first date you are asked to fill in is the EXPIRATION DATE. To make it simple for you to fill in, please put the last day of the next rent month. In your case it would be February, because the current rent month is January and started on January 1st, 2015. This rent month has started and is still active so you cant do a notice to end in an active month.

So the next date on the form will be the DATE OF THE NOTICE, which is the date that you prepare the notice. This should be at least one full inactive month before the EXPIRATION DATE, although it can be dated in an active month. Now in your case, your expiration date is the last day in February, so your date of the notice can be any day in January, right up to the first day of the next active rent month which is February. If you put February 2nd, you cannot have the last day in February as your active expiration date.

The third date required is not indicated, but should be placed where it says ‘SERVED’ . This word is the last word on your notice form and you should place the date the notice will be given to the person before you give them. This date must be on the same day as or after the DATE OF THE NOTICE, but must not be less than 30 days before the EXPIRATION DATE. In your case however, February has 28 or 29 days, so your SERVE DATE must not be less than the 28 or 29 days of February. In other words because your EXPIRATION DATE is the last day in February, the SERVE DATE must be before on on February 1st.

I hope this helps to clear your date confusion.

Legal Wiz

USEFUL LINK:
Eviction notice/ Notice to quit forms to use in Jamaica

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