The Eviction Process in Califonia
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Choose the Correct Notice
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It is the job of the landlord and his attorney to file the right notice with the court. For example, if the tenant has failed to pay the rent, the landlord will put the court on notice that the tenant has 3 days to rectify the problem. Once that has expired, the landlord can file a petition requiring the tenant to move out in 30 or 60 days, depending on how long the tenant has lived there. The landlord can also file a 3-day notice to cure a breach in the contract with the tenant, such as having illegal pets, failing to pay late charges or subletting the apartment or house. A landlord can also file a 3-day notice because of illegal activity that can harm others. Finally, those notices should both be hand-delivered to the tenant and mailed to him at the same time.
The Tenant's Response
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About two out of three times, notices of eviction are received by the court are not responded to by the tenants. In those cases, the landlord is given a so-called default judgment and is then free to proceed with the eviction. In the remaining cases, the tenant challenges the landlord's assertions, and there will be a trial, thus delaying the landlord's right to evict the tenant for about 20 days following the landlord's answer. The tenant will win if he can prove, for example, that the property is uninhabitable due to the landlord's negligence or for some other valid reason. But the landlord will win the case if he has followed the correct procedures along the way.
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Ways That Tenants Can Delay Eviction
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Because California is generally friendly to tenants, there are numerous laws to protect them. As well, the laws are strict as to the proper way a landlord can use the court, and a slight mistake will result in long delays or dismissal. Because there are so many eviction notices in California courts, an industry has sprung up that charges tenants hundreds of dollars to file frivolous, unsubstantiated lawsuits that can delay a tenant's eviction. In addition, a sheriff will delay eviction if someone claiming to live in the premises says that he or she was not served. That information will be given to the court, thus delaying the eviction even further.
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