The Eviction Process in California: What You Should Know!

As the pandemic COVID- 19 has clearly shown, the relationship between a tenant and their landlord is open to circumstances. Millions of people had a hard time paying their rents on time and were evicted. In these cases, the landlords were decent individuals, but they could not afford to lose the paycheck to keep their tenants.

Here MAV Law Corp has decided to discuss the relationship between a landlord and the tenant, as shown in California for you to share with your Torrence criminal defense attorney. Laws vary from State to State on a smaller lever, so you can have a basic outline of what you should expect across the US.

The Landlord’s Eviction Procedure:

Following are the principal regulations that landlords should follow while releasing an eviction notice to their tenants:

• The landlord has to legally terminate the tenancy that requires that they release a notice to the tenant for eviction.
• If the tenant does not move out in the notice period written in the eviction notice, the landlord can file an ‘unlawful detainer suit’ or the eviction lawsuit.
• If the tenant has conducted severe violations of the lease or is violent, then the landlord is not obligated to wait for the notice period to pass.

Rent Payment Notice:

If the tenant has not paid the rent for the month, the landlord can give the tenant a three-day notice to provide the rent in full. If the tenant does not clear his dues in the given period, then the landlord can file the eviction lawsuit, as stated in the California Code of Conviction Procedure 1161 (2).

Agreement Violation Based Eviction:

The landlord can put a clause in the agreement as to the conduct expected in the rented dwelling. Examples of these clauses would be not allowing pets, not allowing guns, or any other living conditions related regulation. If the tenant has signed the agreement and then violated the clauses in the said agreement, then the landlord has the right to give a three-day notice to the tenant for either correction of the violation or eviction according to the California Code of Conviction Procedure 1161 (3).

Unconditional Quit Notice:

Suppose the landlord has proof that the tenant has committed a serious crime or violation of the agreement through illegal activity. In that case, the landlord is not required to provide the tenant with an opportunity to correct their mistake. The landlord is entitled to issue a clear eviction notice to the tenant and not allow them to stay. The following are the circumstances where clear eviction notice is permitted under the California Code of Conviction Procedure 1161 (4).

• If the tenant sublets the rental unit when it is explicitly stated as forbidden in the contract.
• If the tenant has damaged the property in a clear and hefty manner.
• If the tenant has allowed for created themselves, a nuisance on the property.
• If the tenant was participating in or conducting illegal activity on the rental property

Notice for Termination Without Cause:

Suppose a landlord wants to evict the tenant without any concrete and apparent reason than the notice period becomes considerably longer. Here are the various scenarios and the landlord options when there is no definite cause for eviction.

Monthly Tenants:

In case of monthly leases as are common these days, the landlord has to give the tenant a full month’s notice before eviction when the tenant has lived in the house for less than a month. Suppose the tenant has lived longer than a year in the dwelling than the landlord has to give a two-month notice period. The notices need to inform the tenants that the tenancy will expire as the notice period ends, as stated in the California Code of Civil Procedure 1946 and 1946.1.

Fixed Term Tenancy:

If the tenancy was expected to expire in a specific time frame such as three months or a year, the landlord does not have to inform the tenant. If the tenant wants to extend their stays, they must request a renewal of the lease. The landlord is only expected to provide the tenants with a notice of eviction is the lease requires it.

Fighting The Eviction Lawsuit- For Tenants:

If you are given an eviction notice or are fighting an eviction lawsuit, then the best bet you have is fighting the procedural issues. The other common defenses that tenants have are discrimination against the tenants based on age, gender, or race. But these are hard to prove unless there were clear signs and tenants have strong evidence of such behavior.

Removal of Tenants Procedure:

The procedure for legally evicting the tenant is long and arduous in California. The landlord goes to the court with an eviction lawsuit. The lawsuit verdict takes time, quickly a month or more, and then the landlord is required to have a sheriff who will adequately perform the eviction procedure.

It’s illegal for the landlord to evict the tenant without law enforcement personnel to assist and witness the eviction.

Leftover Belongings:

In case the tenant has left the rental premise and has left the personal belonging behind, the landlord is obligated to notify the tenant of abandoned property. The landlord has to give a fifteen-day notice to the tenant to reclaim the property. After the notice period, the landlord can dispose of the property according to the California Code of Civil Procedure 1980-1991.

The main reason for these rules is to ensure that a simple tenancy issue does not push tenants into homelessness. It is common for lower wage-earning tenants to be evicted because they could not afford to pay the rent and lay on the streets.

These eviction procedures for California are only guidelines, and if you can kindly solve the issues with your tenants, then it is undoubtedly a commendable culture.

Stay safe, and take care of your neighbors in these tough times!