In California, people like to stay in a rental house or apartment rather than buying one. So, there are a lot of tenants in California. Because of that, eviction happens regularly. Out of all cases of eviction in California, in half of the cases the tenant does not respond to the unlawful detainer lawsuit. So to sort out the problems regarding tenants, the landlord will contact an attorney of eviction law from a law firm such as https://expressevictions.com/unlawful-detainer-california/california-eviction-laws/.
Notices for Eviction
If any landlord finds his tenant breaking terms and conditions of the lease contract, then he should first inform the tenant verbally. If the tenant ignores the verbal notice, then the landlord can send an official eviction notice. Depending on the cause, the types of notice can vary. It can be a notice to pay the due rent, stop causing problems for other tenants, or any other lease matters.
The tenant has to solve these issues or be evicted within three days. If the tenant is a long-term tenant, the landlord can extend the notice time from 3 days to 30/60 or 90 days. In eviction law, an eviction notice is critical. If the landlord sends an incorrect notice or no notice at all, then the tenant can raise it as a defense in court. For that, the court can dismiss the landlord’s complaint.
Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit
Eviction lawsuit’s can be brought against the tenant who is staying at the property even after the lease expired without renewing it, or someone who didn’t pay the rent for a couple of months, or endangered the property or other tenants, or breached any other lease contract. And when the landlord sends an eviction notice, but the tenant does not pay up, fix the situation, or leave, then the landlord files an unlawful detainer.
In an unlawful detainer lawsuit, the plaintiff is the landlord, and the defendant is the tenant. But the landlord can’t forcefully remove the tenant from the property until the court rules his claims are valid. If the tenant does not attend the court hearing, then he will be an unlawful detainer by default.
Court Affairs
After the landlord files the paperwork at the court, the court will pick a date for hearing the case. The tenant must reply with an answer when he receives a summons. If the notice is unanswered by the tenant, then the landlord will win by default. The court will judge what to do with the tenant. But the landlord will also seek a monetary judgment for the past due rent and the court fees and attorney fees.
Moving The Tenant
A few days after the judgment, the court will issue a writ for the tenant to require him to leave the property voluntarily. After the court notice of 24 hours to leave the property for the tenant is over, the court will send a local law enforcement officer to move the tenant forcefully. Only a sheriff or deputy sheriff can move a tenant physically. The landlord can’t move a tenant physically.
Every state of the United States of America has some differences in eviction laws. Some are about notice delays or judgment execution times or other topics. But the fundamental law is if a tenant breaches any part of a lease contract, then the landlord can’t remove the tenant forcefully. It may be allowed in most countries, but in the USA it is illegal. The landlord must inform the tenant with an eviction notice about the wrong he committed. But if the tenant doesn’t reply to the notice, the landlord will file it in the court. And the court will order a present from the tenant and the landlord. If the tenant does not attend the court hearing, then the landlord will be the winner.
If the landlord wins the judgment, then the court will send 24 hours’ notice to the tenant. If the tenant still doesn’t move from the property, then the local law enforcement agents will move the tenant forcefully and give the landlord his property back. If the tenant moves without paying the due rent, then the landlord can apply for a small claim file in the court for his due rent. Then the local law enforcer will collect the money by order of the court.
