California - As landlords, dealing with consistently late rent or repeated violations to the lease agreement is tough. But even tougher than letting it go, is evicting them. After dealing with two evictions this past year, Torcora’s Jason T has a few pointers as we are preparing your tenants for eviction. With our attorneys on staff, we assist clients through the legal process.

1. Your “3 Day Notice…” is not an enforceable court order.

But, you cannot begin the process without it. In California, tenants can only be legally evicted after the landlord wins an unlawful detainer case. However, your termination notices need to be consistent and correct to prevent the judge from throwing your case out. Torcora will create the appropriate “3 Day Notice to Quit”, “Notice to Cure”, or “30 Days Notice to Vacate.” In certain cases, 60 days notice is required. So that 3 Day notice really only sparks a months long process.

2. You must follow each step to the letter of the law.

After your first notice is served correctly, the next step is to file the paperwork with your county court for an unlawful detainer case. This paperwork for this case must then be served properly to all tenants, and you must initially attempt to serve in-person several times. Tenants will have a period of time to respond. After that, if you do not dismiss the case, file to set up a court date. Following the court date and judgement, the writ of execution is the judicial order that can be enforced by an official like a sheriff. The sheriffs’ office has its own processing timeline before assisting you to possess the property. If your tenant has abandoned personal possessions on the property, you will need to follow another list of procedures. You can’t just sell it or throw it out.

3. Technicalities and other landmines await.

Laws are protective of tenants’ rights. In each step of the way, tenants can appeal, refuse, rebuke, and take many other actions that will delay the process. If there is insufficient paperwork, inconsistent information, missed collection dates, or undocumented processes, you may be headed back to square one. There are many opportunities for mistakes such as serving documents improperly. None of this take into account the trial and sheriff waiting times. For context, currently the Los Angeles county court and Orange County courts are backed up 3 months and 2 months respectively. Sheriffs can even take two weeks to possess the property.

You may never need to worry about evictions. In Chairwoman TJ's decades of experience and tens of homes managed, she has processed two.

Questions? Ask away!