Question with 3 day notice

[Alex Smith]

Hi All, Have a tenant who has been chronically behind on rent for some time, and served couple other 3 day notices in last couple months, to which he made partial payments, and as a result was behind bymore than half the rent as of last month, and so for this month after again being late by two weeks, he was served with another 3 day notice to pay in money-order only, which he finally replied to saying that his account was hacked back in early September and that bank had said his issues will be resolved in 90 days, which sounds like a stretch as the tenant also mis-represented on the application about his previous landlord reference, which was confirmed to be a lie, and has been problematic from day one.  The question is the following.  In this case, after the most recent 3 day notice, he again said that he can make full payment (for this month as well as previous balance), and so he was allowed to make a payment, but this time, the payment site was set not to accept any partial payments, and so now a week has gone by, and no payment, but have received an email from a supposed rent-assistance type of organization that states their intent to pay for him or something to that effect on the grounds for covids and/or financial hardships to avoid going homeless, which I am guessing is more of the same cat & mouse game to buy time. and here is the question: Given that he was offered a chance to pay online the full amount (which he didn't), does that invalidate the most recent 3 day notice, and if that means that we have to serve him yet with another fresh 3 day notice before proceeding with getting the lawyer to evict him?

Thanks in Advance,

Alex

[Julie Hartman]

@Alex Smith I would consult with an attorney before doing anything else. I don't know about CA but I believe each time you accept any amount of money you are essentially invalidating the notice and you have to start all over again. Your tenant isn't stupid, he knows this and he's been playing you. He knows how to buy himself more time. The attorney will tell you exactly what your next move should be.