Eviction process and laws in California explained

Your tenant stopped paying, will not leave, and the unit is sitting in limbo. California eviction law gives you one lawful path. First serve a valid written notice. If the tenant still stays, win possession in court and let the sheriff perform the lockout. Changing locks is illegal. So are utility shutoffs and removing a tenant's belongings, no matter how much rent is owed, and the penalties under Civil Code § 789.3 run to up to $100 per day plus mandatory attorney's fees. On top of the court requirement, the state's Tenant Protection Act means you can terminate most tenancies past 12 months only for a reason the statute specifically lists.

California eviction basics: key terms and legal framework

An unlawful detainer is California's eviction lawsuit, a summary proceeding with compressed deadlines and the only lawful way to remove a tenant who won't leave voluntarily. A landlord who wins gets a judgment for possession; only the sheriff can then remove the tenant.

Under the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482, codified at Civil Code § 1946.2), once a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied a covered property for 12 months, you cannot terminate the tenancy without one of the enumerated just causes. Just cause means one of the specific reasons § 1946.2 lists; no other reason counts, however sensible it sounds. SB 567 tightened owner move-in and remodel rules effective April 1, 2024; AB 1529 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 203) amended § 1946.2 again effective January 1, 2026, and the section sunsets January 1, 2030.

At-fault just cause arises from tenant conduct. Nonpayment of rent, lease violations, nuisance, and waste are the core at-fault grounds under § 1946.2(b)(1), each one a breach the tenant is responsible for. Because at-fault terminations respond to the tenant's own lease violations or other misconduct, no relocation assistance is owed. No-fault just cause, by contrast, covers the owner's plans for the property, such as moving in or substantially remodeling it. No-fault terminations require relocation assistance equal to one month of the tenant's rent precisely because the tenant bears no fault for the displacement.

Legal grounds for eviction: at-fault vs no-fault

Section 1946.2(b) enumerates the grounds, and each maps to a specific notice:

• Category | Grounds | Notice type
• At-fault | Default in payment of rent | 3-day notice to pay rent or quit
• At-fault | Breach of a material lease term (curable) | 3-day notice to cure or quit; if uncured, proceed to unlawful detainer
• At-fault | Nuisance or waste on the property | 3-day unconditional notice to quit
• At-fault | Criminal activity on the property, or criminal threat directed at the owner or agent | 3-day unconditional notice to quit
• At-fault | Subletting or assigning in violation of the lease; refusing lawful owner entry; refusing to sign a lawful lease renewal | 3-day notice (curable violations get an opportunity to cure)
• No-fault | Owner or qualifying relative move-in | 30- or 60-day notice + relocation assistance
• No-fault | Demolition or substantial remodel | 30- or 60-day notice + relocation assistance + copy of permits
• No-fault | Withdrawal of the property from the rental market | 30- or 60-day notice + relocation assistance
• No-fault | Compliance with a government agency or court order related to habitability | 30- or 60-day notice; relocation assistance unless the tenant caused the condition

Under § 1946.2(b)(2), the owner (a natural person holding at least a 25% recorded interest) or a close relative must move in within 90 days after the tenant vacates and live there as a primary residence for at least 12 consecutive months. A substantial remodel means permit-required structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical work that cannot be done safely with the tenant in place and needs the unit vacant at least 30 consecutive days; painting, decorating, and minor repairs do not qualify, and the notice must include the permits or the signed contractor contract for hazardous-material abatement.

Types of eviction notices and required notice periods

For nonpayment of rent, the landlord's tool is the 3-day notice to pay or quit. No-fault terminations follow a different timeline: a 30-day notice applies when the tenancy has lasted less than one year, while a tenancy of one year or more requires a 60-day notice. Either way, a notice that fails to comply strictly with the statute cannot support a judgment for possession. At-fault notice periods come from CCP § 1161; the court self-help guide sets out the 30- and 60-day no-fault termination periods. Match the notice to the ground:

• Notice type | When used | Days
• 3-day notice to pay rent or quit | Tenant is behind on rent | 3 days, excluding weekends and court holidays
• 3-day notice to cure or quit | Curable lease violation | 3 days, excluding weekends and court holidays
• 3-day unconditional notice to quit | Nuisance, waste, illegal activity, criminal threat | 3 days, counting every day
• 30-day notice to terminate | No-fault termination where the tenancy has lasted less than one year (only where just cause does not yet apply) | 30 days
• 60-day notice to terminate | No-fault termination where the tenancy has lasted one year or more | 60 days

On a tenancy covered by just cause, § 1946.2(c) requires the notice to state the ground you are relying on, and a no-fault notice must also name the intended occupant or attach the permits.

Count the days carefully: day after delivery or mailing is day 1; skip weekends and court holidays for notices that let the tenant fix the problem, count every day for those that don't, and if the last day lands on a weekend or holiday the deadline moves to the next court day.

How to legally serve an eviction notice

Service is where landlords lose winnable cases. Proper service is jurisdictional: in Liebovich v. Shahrokhkhany, the Court of Appeal held that a lessor "must strictly comply with the statutorily mandated requirements for service of a three-day notice to pay rent or quit."

CCP § 1162 allows exactly three methods, in order of preference:

1. Hand the notice to the tenant directly. The server must be 18 or older. Certified mail alone does not count as personal service.
2. Substitute service is available only if the tenant is absent from both home and usual place of business. Leave a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion at either location, and mail a copy to the tenant's residence. Both steps are required. For residential tenancies, no prior showing of reasonable diligence is needed (Highland Plastics, Inc. v. Enders).
3. Posting and mailing, commonly called "nail and mail," is available only if you cannot ascertain the tenant's residence and business, or no suitable person can be found at either location. Affix the notice conspicuously on the property, deliver a copy to anyone residing there if found, and mail a copy to the property address. Service by posting and mailing is complete when you post the notice and deposit the mailed copy.

Text messages and email are not valid service. CCP § 1013's mailing extension does not apply to § 1162 notice periods, so don't pad your count.

The unlawful detainer lawsuit: step-by-step court process

In a nonpayment of rent case where the tenant has not cured, once the notice period expires without payment or move-out, the case follows a fixed sequence:

1. File an unlawful detainer complaint and summons in superior court. Under the statewide fee schedule effective January 1, 2026, the filing fee is $240 when the amount demanded is up to $10,000, $385 from over $10,000 up to $35,000, and $435 above $35,000. Those figures include the $15 surcharge on limited civil UD plaintiffs under CCP § 1161.2.
2. Serve the tenant with the court papers; the response clock runs from that service.
3. The tenant has 10 court days to respond, plus five more if you served the papers by mail.
4. If no response arrives by the deadline, request a default judgment; if the tenant answers, the court sets the case for trial.
5. A landlord judgment awards possession and, where pleaded, unpaid rent and costs.

Either side can apply for a fee waiver on Form FW-001 based on public benefits, household income under 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, or inability to pay fees and still meet basic needs.

How tenants respond: filing an Answer

AB 2347 (Chapter 512, Statutes of 2024) rewrote the response deadline effective January 1, 2025. CCP § 1167 now provides that the response "shall be filed within 10 days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and other judicial holidays, after the complaint is served upon the defendant," with "an additional five court days" when service is completed by mail or through the Secretary of State's address confidentiality program. AB 2347 expanded the deadline from 5 days.

When filing a response, the tenant uses Form UD-105, Answer: Unlawful Detainer, current revision January 1, 2026. Filing a response requires you to bring the original plus at least two copies to the clerk's office at the address on the Complaint and pay a filing fee of $225 to $450 depending on the court. Each named tenant pays separately or requests a waiver. A tenant who misses the deadline can have a default judgment entered against them.

Tenant protections under AB 1482

Adding adult tenants changes the math: where adults joined before an existing tenant hit 24 months, protection applies only when all tenants have occupied for 12 months or more, or at least one tenant has occupied for 24 months or more.

The Act covers most rental housing built more than 15 years ago on a rolling basis, including single-family homes owned by a corporation or REIT and mobilehomes rented from park management, under the Attorney General's TPA bulletin.

For no-fault terminations, you must handle relocation assistance in one of two ways:

• Pay relocation assistance equal to one month of the rent in effect when the notice was served within 15 calendar days of serving the notice.
• Waive the final month's rent in writing before it comes due.
• Strict compliance matters. If you miss the requirement, the termination notice is void.

An owner who attempts to recover possession in material violation of § 1946.2 is liable for actual damages, attorney's fees at the court's discretion, and up to three times actual damages plus punitive damages on a showing of willful conduct, fraud, oppression, or malice. The Attorney General and local city attorneys can seek injunctions, and any tenant waiver of these rights is void.

Property exemptions from just cause

Several property categories sit outside § 1946.2 entirely, including the exemptions individual owners rely on most:

• Exempt property | Conditions
• Housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the previous 15 years | Rolling 15-year window; mobilehomes excluded from this exemption
• Single-family homes and condos (alienable separate property) | Owner is not a REIT, corporation, LLC with a corporate member, or mobilehome park management, AND the tenant received the exact statutory exemption notice
• Owner-occupied duplexes | Owner occupied one unit as a principal residence at tenancy start and still does; neither unit is an ADU or JADU
• Owner-occupied single-family homes | Owner rents no more than two units or bedrooms, including ADUs and JADUs
• Shared-kitchen or shared-bath housing | Tenant shares the space with an owner who lives there as a principal residence
• Deed-restricted affordable housing, school dormitories, licensed care facilities, transient hotels | Per § 1946.2(e)

The single-family and condo exemption fails unless the tenant received the exact notice language in § 1946.2(e)(8), and for tenancies commenced or renewed on or after July 1, 2020 that notice must sit in the rental agreement itself.

Local rent control interaction

Los Angeles and San Francisco impose stricter rules than AB 1482. In the City of Los Angeles, the RSO overview explains that the Rent Stabilization Ordinance covers properties built on or before October 1, 1978, and the separate Just Cause Ordinance covers most non-RSO properties, including single-family homes, protecting tenants at the JCO threshold: the end of the first lease or 6 months in, whichever comes first.

The Just Cause Ordinance also blocks nonpayment evictions unless the tenant owes more than the HUD Fair Market Rent for the unit size, $2,328 for a one-bedroom. You must file every LA eviction notice with the LA Housing Department within 3 business days of service; missing that filing hands the tenant an affirmative defense.

San Francisco's Rent Ordinance lists 17 just cause grounds and covers most residential properties, including post-1979 buildings and single-family homes. Lease expiration and change of ownership are not just cause in SF. Where local rules are more protective, they govern; read the city ordinance before serving any notice.

Local relocation payments run far above the state's one month of rent:

• City | Local relocation payments
• Los Angeles | Up to $27,400, a periodically updated figure
• San Francisco | $8,245 per tenant, with owner move-in payments of $11,110.05 per tenant, capped at $33,330.13 per unit

Tenant defenses: how to fight an eviction

Tenants raise defenses by checking boxes on Form UD-105, so read this section as the list of arguments your case has to survive.

A habitability breach is a defense to nonpayment. In Green v. Superior Court (1974), the California Supreme Court held that "a warranty of habitability is implied by law in residential leases in California" and its breach can be raised as a defense in an unlawful detainer. Civil Code § 1941.1 lists what makes a unit untenantable:

• Failed weatherproofing, or unsafe floors and railings
• Broken plumbing or heating
• No hot and cold running water
• Rodents or other vermin in the unit
• For leases entered, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026, a missing working stove or refrigerator

The defense rarely erases rent entirely; under CCP § 1174.2, the court sets the reasonable rental value of the unit in its defective state and the tenant keeps possession by paying that adjusted amount.

Under Civil Code § 1942.5, a landlord may not seek possession, raise rent, or cut services within 180 days of a tenant's good-faith habitability complaint, agency report, or related lawsuit. A landlord may still proceed during that window if the notice or pleading states, and the landlord proves, a good-faith ground for possession. If a landlord acts with fraud, oppression, or malice, the landlord owes actual damages plus punitive damages of $100 to $2,000 per retaliatory act.

Each of these landlord errors can void the notice or hand the tenant an affirmative defense: miscounting the notice days or ignoring the weekend and holiday rules, serving by text or email, failing to pay relocation assistance within 15 days of a no-fault notice, or in Los Angeles skipping the LAHD filing within 3 business days of service.

California law provides explicit domestic violence protections for tenants facing eviction. Under CCP § 1161.3, a landlord who has received qualifying documentation, such as a protective order or police report from the last 180 days, or a qualified third-party statement, cannot terminate a tenancy based on an act of domestic violence against the tenant or a household member. If the abuser is a co-tenant rather than the landlord, CCP § 1174.27 directs the court to issue a partial eviction removing only the perpetrator and to order the landlord to change the locks, allowing the surviving tenant to remain in the home.

Tenants without a lawyer can work through the Answer step by step at the California Courts self-help center, and legal aid organizations such as LAFLA publish UD answer guides.

After the judgment: writ of possession and sheriff lockout

A judgment for possession does not itself put you back in the property. The court must issue a writ of possession under CCP § 715.010, and only the levying officer, the sheriff, can execute it. Under CCP § 715.020, the officer serves the writ on an occupant personally or posts it; if the occupants have not vacated within 5 days of service, the officer removes them and places you in possession.

An occupant the landlord did not name in the judgment can file a claim of right to possession up to the moment the sheriff arrives, which stops the eviction until the court resolves the claim; if the court denies the claim, the sheriff proceeds within a reasonable time not exceeding 5 days. In a rent-default case where the written lease has no forfeiture clause, CCP § 1174 requires the court to hold the writ for 5 days after entry of judgment so the tenant can cure by paying rent, interest, damages, and costs.

Civil Code §§ 1980–1991 governs belongings the tenant leaves behind. You must give written notice describing the property, stating where it can be claimed, and setting a reclamation deadline of at least 15 days after personal delivery or 18 days after mailing. Once the deadline passes, you must sell property worth $700 or more at public sale by competitive bidding, and may keep, sell, or dispose of property you reasonably believe is worth less.

Illegal self-help evictions and landlord penalties

Skipping the court process costs more than following it. Civil Code § 789.3 prohibits four acts when done with intent to terminate a tenancy:

• Shutting off any utility (water, heat, light, electricity, gas, telephone, elevator, refrigeration)
• Locking the tenant out by changing locks or using a bootlock
• Removing doors or windows
• Removing the tenant's personal property without written consent outside the §§ 1980–1991 procedure

A violating landlord owes actual damages plus a statutory penalty of up to $100 per day of violation with a $250 minimum per cause of action, and repeated non-contemporaneous violations count as separate causes of action. The court must award the prevailing tenant attorney's fees. Separately, Civil Code § 1940.2 makes harassment intended to push a tenant out, including immigration threats, punishable by a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation.

Criminal liability runs in parallel. Using force or violence to enter or detain another's lands or possessions is a misdemeanor under Penal Code § 418, and entering an occupied residence without consent carries a one-year jail term and/or a $1,000 fine under Penal Code § 602.5(b). Damage of $400 or more reaches felony vandalism under Penal Code § 594. A locked-out tenant can go to court for an illegal lockout order or an emergency ex parte order restoring possession and utilities.

California eviction timeline: how long it takes

California eviction law sets a minimum at each stage, and those minimums add up predictably; our state-by-state eviction timeline shows how California compares:

• Stage | Time
• Notice period | 3 days (at-fault) to 60 days (no-fault, tenancy over one year)
• Serving the summons and complaint | The response clock starts only once service on the tenant is complete
• Tenant response window | 10 court days; +5 court days if service was by mail
• Default judgment or trial | Default may be requested after the response deadline passes; a contested case adds trial scheduling
• Writ of possession | The court issues it after judgment
• Sheriff's 5-day notice to vacate | 5 days from service or posting of the writ
• Lockout | Sheriff returns and removes occupants
• Total | No statute sets a total; adding the statutory minimums above gives roughly 5–8 weeks for an uncontested nonpayment case and 3 months or more when the tenant answers

Protect your rental income during and after eviction

An uncontested case still runs up filing fees, sheriff costs, and weeks of vacancy; our California eviction cost guide breaks down the numbers. No policy reimburses the rent a nonpaying tenant never paid, but landlord insurance in California covers the property damage a departing tenant can leave behind and the lost rent when a covered peril makes the unit uninhabitable. Get a quote in minutes at quote.steadily.com.

FAQ

Landlords and tenants ask these eight questions most often.

What's the difference between an at-fault and a no-fault eviction?

At-fault evictions are tied to tenant conduct, such as unpaid rent, lease violations, or nuisance, and carry no relocation payment requirement. No-fault evictions serve the owner's plans, such as a move-in, substantial remodel, or market withdrawal, and require one month's rent in relocation assistance under AB 1482 (more in LA and SF).

How many days does each eviction notice give the tenant?

Pay-or-quit, cure-or-quit, and unconditional-quit notices all run three days. A no-fault termination requires 30 days when the tenancy has lasted under a year and 60 days at a year or more.

What are the steps of an unlawful detainer?

File the complaint and summons in superior court, serve the tenant, wait out the response window, then take a default judgment or go to trial. After judgment, the writ of possession lets the sheriff schedule the lockout.

How long does a tenant have to respond to an eviction lawsuit?

Ten court days from service of the summons and complaint, per CCP § 1167 as amended by AB 2347 effective January 1, 2025, plus five additional court days if service was by mail. The response goes on Form UD-105.

Who physically removes a tenant?

Only the sheriff can remove a tenant, acting on a writ of possession. The officer serves or posts a 5-day notice to vacate and returns to perform the lockout if the occupants remain. Landlords may never remove tenants themselves.

Which properties does AB 1482 cover?

AB 1482 covers most rental housing whose certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old, once a tenant reaches 12 months of continuous occupancy. Exemptions include newer construction, owner-occupied duplexes, and individually owned single-family homes or condos, though that last one holds only if the tenant received the exact statutory notice in writing.

What landlord actions are illegal during an eviction?

Civil Code § 789.3 bars lockouts, utility shutoffs, removing doors or windows, and removing a tenant's belongings. Penalties include actual damages, up to $100 per day, mandatory attorney's fees, and potential misdemeanor or felony charges.

How long does the whole process take?

No statute sets a total; the statutory minimums add to about five to eight weeks for an uncontested nonpayment case, and longer once a tenant files an Answer.