Introduction to the eviction process
Before a bailiff or bailiff can evict your California tenant, they must first receive an unlawful detainer judgment. To accomplish this, file an unlawful detainer action (a lawsuit) against the tenant. Although most landlords win those lawsuits because the tenant does not show up for the hearing, it is important to follow the formalities to give the tenant proper notice. Otherwise, your case will be delayed on technicalities.
Three day notice to pay rent or vacate
In cases where a tenant does not pay rent, before filing your unlawful detainer action, you must give the tenant a three-day notice. The notice must include your tenant’s name, a demand to pay within three days or move, and a statement that you will take legal action. California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161(2). You or any other adult over the age of 18 can serve the notice on your tenant. If the tenant refuses to accept the notice, she can simply drop it at her feet. If the tenant doesn’t answer the door, she can slide the sign under the door or yell “I’m going to put the sign under the mat!”
If, after three full days, your tenant does not pay or move out, you can start an unlawful detainer action. You do not have to accept full or partial payment offered after the three-day notice expires, but if you accept such payment, you lose your eviction rights until the tenant falls behind on rent again and you deliver another three days. notice of the day
After the tenant has had three full days to pay rent (counting the day after service is received as the first day), you can start your unlawful detainer action for nonpayment of rent.
30 day notice
In cases where a month-to-month tenant does not move after the lease has been terminated, you can use a 30-day notice if the month-to-month tenant has lived in the property for less than a year. If the tenant has lived in the property for more than a year, they must give a 60-day notice (even if the tenant pays biweekly or weekly). A 90-day notice is required for some government-subsidized leases. The requirements for the service are essentially the same as for a three-day notice. 30, 60 and 90 day notices are more appropriate when you want to evict the tenant for a minor infraction, negligible nuisance/harm, or no cause (if your jurisdiction allows no cause evictions). San Diego allows eviction without just cause, but only for tenants who have lived in the property for less than two years. San Diego Municipal Code Section. 98.0730. Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Glendale, Palm Springs, and San Francisco do not allow evictions without just cause. That means a landlord can evict only for the reasons listed in the applicable ordinances. The usual reasons are non-payment of rent, nuisance, refusal to give the landlord reasonable access to the property, unauthorized subtenants, etc. Generally, it is best to use a three-day notice in cases of nonpayment of rent.
After you have served the 30 or 60 day notice, you must wait 30 or 60 days before filing your unlawful detainer complaint. Usually, a judge will hear and decide the case within twenty days of filing. California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1170.5(a). If the decision is in your favor, the judge will issue a writ of possession (California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 712.010 and 715.010.) ordering the bailiff to remove the tenant from the property if the tenant does not leave voluntarily within five days.