Short answer. It depends on what is being rented: you must wait fifteen days after the demand if the property is land, or five days if it is a building, and only file once the lessee has failed to comply with the demand within that period.
What the law says
such action by the lessor shall be commenced only after demand to pay or comply with the conditions of the lease and to vacate is made upon the lessee, or by serving written notice of such demand upon the person found on the premises, or by posting such notice on the premises if no person be found thereon, and the lessee fails to comply therewith after fifteen days in the case of land or five days in the case of buildings
Rule 70, Section 2 — Lessor to proceed against lessee only after demand. Read the full provision →
The waiting period depends on the type of property
Section 2 sets two different waiting periods, and which one applies turns entirely on what kind of property the lease covers. If the lease is over land, the lessee has fifteen days from the demand to comply before the lessor may sue. If the lease is over a building, that period shrinks to five days. Getting this distinction right matters, because filing before the applicable period has run can defeat the case regardless of how clear the lessee's default otherwise is.
The demand has to combine two things
The rule does not treat a bare demand to vacate as enough on its own. The demand must be to pay or comply with the conditions of the lease, and to vacate — both elements together, made upon the lessee. Unless the lease itself stipulates otherwise, this combined demand is what starts the clock. A notice that only tells the tenant to leave, without also demanding payment or compliance where that is the actual ground for eviction, may not satisfy what Section 2 requires before the action can begin.
How the demand may be served
Section 2 allows the demand to reach the lessee in more than one way. It may be made directly upon the lessee, or it may be served as a written notice on whoever is found on the premises, or, if nobody is found there, by posting the notice on the premises itself. This flexibility means the demand does not fail simply because the lessee could not be personally located — serving the person present, or posting the notice where no one is present, satisfies the rule.
Why the timing matters before filing
The unlawful detainer action itself may only be commenced after the applicable waiting period has fully run and the lessee still has not complied. That sequencing is not a formality — it is a condition the rule places on the right to sue at all. Filing the case one day before the fifteen-day or five-day period expires, counted from proper service or posting of the demand, is filing before the cause of action under this rule has matured.