Key Takeaways
- Evicting a tenant in California requires following strict legal procedures, including serving the proper notice and having valid grounds.
- Failure to follow state-mandated eviction steps can lead to costly legal setbacks or penalties for unlawful eviction.
- Understanding tenant defenses and court processes is essential for landlords to successfully regain possession of their property.
Are you considering evicting a tenant from your California rental property? As a landlord, knowing the dos and don’ts of the process is essential.
There may come a time when a tenant eviction is necessary. Evicting a tenant can be costly, stressful, and time consuming. Even worse, you may find yourself in potential legal trouble should you fail to follow the right procedures.
That’s why familiarizing yourself with the California landlord-tenant law is essential for success. We at BridgeHaus Property Managers have put together this guide to help your understand your responsibilities during the eviction process.
Understanding the Eviction Process in California
Evictions in California must follow a certain process for successful removal of a tenant. The following are important basics to know:
Legal Grounds for Eviction
To begin the removal process of a tenant from their rented premises, a landlord must have certain legal grounds. In California, the following are the grounds you can use to evict a tenant from their rented premises:
- Failure by the tenant to pay rent after it becomes due.
- Refusal by the tenant to move out after their lease ends.
- Not abiding by the terms of the lease agreement.
- Engaging in illegal activities while on the property.
Notice for Lease Termination
Next, you’ll need to terminate the rental agreement. This will require you to serve the tenant with an appropriate eviction notice. Eviction notices can be curable or not, depending on the reason for the tenant’s eviction. When curable, all the tenant would need to do is fix the violation.
But if the reason for the eviction is incurable, then the tenant would have no other option but to vacate their rented premises. With that in mind, the following are the notices for lease termination to use to terminate a lease:
- 3-Day Notice to Quit for Nonpayment of Rent – This eviction notice will give a tenant who hasn’t paid the rent due 3 days to do so.
- 30-Day Notice to Vacate for Tenants with No Lease – You can serve this notice to a tenant who doesn’t have a lease and has lived on the property for less than a year. This notice will give them 30 days to move out.
- 60-Day Notice to Vacate – This notice is to terminate a month-to-month tenancy of someone who has lived on the property for more than a year. It gives them up to 60 days to move out on their own.
- 3-Day Notice to Perform Covenants or Vacate – This is meant to terminate the tenancy of tenants who commit minor lease violations like refusing landlord entry or not keeping the unit sanitary.
- 3-Day Notice to Vacate – This will give the tenant up to 3 days to move out, or else risk a forceful eviction through a court order.
Serving an Eviction Notice in California
Eviction notices in California, just like elsewhere in the country, must be served in a specific manner. The following are the options you have:
- Serve the California tenant in person.
- Leave a copy with a person of suitable age residing on the property. You should, however, only consider this option if you can’t deliver it personally to the tenant.
- Post a notice in a conspicuous area on the property if all other forms of delivery fail. You must also deliver another copy by mail and hand another to a person residing on the property.
Tenant Eviction Defenses in California
A tenant eviction defense is a legitimate reason a tenant can give to stop or delay their removal. In California, the following are some of the reasons the tenant can give to stop their eviction:
- The filing or notification process was conducted improperly.
- The landlord’s claims are false.
- The eviction is the result of discrimination in violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act.
- The tenant fixed the violation on time.
- The eviction was a retaliatory tactic against the tenant for exercising a legal right.
Following the proper legal process and keeping detailed records of tenant interaction and notices served will help you prove your case in court.
Attending the Court Hearing
As a landlord, you can only win an eviction exercise against your tenant in either of two ways. That is, through a default hearing or after a successful hearing process in court.
Upon winning, the court will issue you a writ of execution (court order). This will return the legal possession of the property back to you, and the tenant will have to leave. Note, however, that only sheriff or court appointed official can forcible remove the tenant from the San Diego rental property.
Bottom Line
Evictions in California must follow proper legal procedure. And the penalties for unlawful eviction can be quite steep. You should also familiarize yourself with other California regulations like the security deposit law and Fair Housing Act.
For expert help managing your rentals, please look no further than BridgeHaus Property Managers. We can handle all your San Diego property management needs. Get in touch today to learn more about our full-service property management services!
Disclaimer: Please note that the information provided in this blog is intended for general guidance and should not be considered as a replacement for professional legal advice. It is important to be aware that laws pertaining to property management may change, rendering this information outdated by the time you read it.