How to Evict Someone Who Sublets in California
In California, eviction laws for someone subletting an apartment are similar to those for tenants of a rental unit. If the landlord gave a tenant permission to sublet a property, it will be up to the tenant to act as a landlord and he or she will be responsible for the eviction process in California. If a tenant did not receive prior permission from the landlord, the landlord can evict both the tenant and subtenant for violation of the lease. You would follow a standard eviction procedure to evict someone who sublets in California.
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Instructions
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Write a notice to quit letter to your tenant if you want to evict the subtenant but continue to rent to the primary tenant. Inform your tenant in writing that he or she must evict the subtenant or face eviction. This written notice can also serve if your primary tenant has sublet the apartment without permission. Under California law, you must provide written notice with a certain amount of time to allow the tenant to correct the problem before beginning the eviction process. Be specific in the written notice and tell your tenant and subtenant exactly what they must do to prevent eviction.
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Provide the tenant and subtenant with a 30- or 60-day notice if the problem was not corrected. If your tenant has lived in your property for longer than a year, you are required to provide her with 60 days to vacate the property under California law. If she has lived there less than a year, you are only required to give 30 day notice. You can create your own notice. Include the address of the property, name of tenants, your name and address.
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Go to the superior court in the county where your property is if the tenant or subtenant did not vacate in the amount of time provided. You can download a copy of the complaint from the California court self help website. You can also get a copy of the form from the clerk of the courts at the courthouse. File the complaint by handing in completed form to the clerk. Pay any filing fees. These fees will vary based on the county in California that you are filing in. The clerk will issue a summons for a court date.
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Serve the complaint and summons to your tenant or subtenant. You can hire a process server since the rules for serving court documents in California are very specific. However, any adult over the age of 18 and not involved in the eviction case can deliver the eviction notice in person to the tenant or subtenant. Be sure to have whoever served the summons complete an affidavit stating that the papers were served.
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Attend any scheduled court dates.The eviction process will depend on your tenant and subtenant's responses. Bring any evidence or witnesses with you to the court room including a copy of the lease.
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