How the California eviction process works
To evict a tenant in California, you serve a written notice under Code of Civil Procedure 1161, file an unlawful detainer complaint in superior court once it expires, serve the summons, and win a judgment for possession, either by default or at a trial held within 20 days of a request. The sheriff then serves the writ of possession and removes the tenant five days later.
Every step has a technical trap, and a defect usually means dismissal and a new notice. Our California landlord-tenant law guide covers deposits, rent caps and the 2025 and 2026 law changes. This page covers the eviction case itself, and many cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, add their own eviction rules on top.
California eviction notice types
CCP 1161 sets the notice periods, and the two most common ones count only court days, leaving out Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays.
- Unpaid rent: a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit, excluding weekends and judicial holidays. It can be served any time within one year after the rent became due (CCP 1161(2)).
- Curable lease violation: a 3-day notice to perform the covenant or quit, with the same counting rule; performing within three court days saves the lease (CCP 1161(3)).
- Nuisance, waste, unlawful use or an unauthorized assignment or sublet: a 3-day notice to quit with no right to cure (CCP 1161(4)).
- Ending a month-to-month tenancy: 30 days if any tenant has lived there under a year, 60 days if all have lived there a year or more (Civil Code 1946.1), and a stated just cause where AB 1482 applies.
- Since February 1, 2025, a landlord may not charge the tenant a fee for serving, posting or delivering any of these notices (CCP 1161, as amended by SB 611).
What a 3-day notice to pay or quit must say
CCP 1161(2) requires the notice to state the amount due and the name, telephone number and address of the person to pay. If rent can be paid in person, give the usual days and hours that person is available. Alternatively, give an account number at a financial institution within five miles of the property, or point to an electronic transfer procedure already in place.
Demand rent only. Late fees, utilities and other charges stated as rent are a common reason a judge throws out a notice. Serve it by handing it to the tenant; if the tenant is away from home and work, by leaving it with a person of suitable age there and mailing a copy; or, if neither works, by posting it in a conspicuous place, handing a copy to someone living there if possible, and mailing a copy (CCP 1162(a)).
Just cause under AB 1482
Once a tenant has lawfully occupied a unit for 12 months, Civil Code 1946.2 bars ending the tenancy without just cause, and the cause must appear in the written notice. At-fault causes include nonpayment, breach of a material lease term, nuisance, waste, criminal activity on the property and refusal to allow lawful entry. No-fault causes include owner move-in, withdrawal from the rental market, a government order to vacate, and demolition or a substantial remodel.
Two rules catch owners. For a curable violation, you must first give a notice to cure under CCP 1161(3); only if the tenant doesn’t cure can you serve a 3-day notice to quit. For a no-fault termination, you must pay relocation equal to one month’s rent within 15 calendar days of serving the notice, or waive the final month’s rent in writing, and the notice must tell the tenant about that right. Missing either step voids the notice, and a willful violation can cost up to three times actual damages. Buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued in the past 15 years are exempt.
Filing the unlawful detainer and the 10-court-day answer
File the complaint in the superior court for the county where the building sits. Under the Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026, the first-paper fee is $240 when the demand is $10,000 or less, $385 from $10,000 to $35,000, and $435 above $35,000.
Under CCP 1167, as amended by AB 2347 effective January 1, 2025, the tenant has 10 days to file a response after service, excluding weekends and judicial holidays, plus five more court days if service is completed by mail. That replaced the old five-day period. If the tenant doesn’t respond, you can request a default, with the military-status declaration the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires.
Trial and judgment
If the tenant answers, either side can ask the court to set trial. Under CCP 1170.5, trial must be held no later than the 20th day after the request, and a writ issues immediately on request if you win. If trial slips past 20 days without the parties’ agreement, the court can order the tenant to pay rent into court while the case is pending.
The judgment declares the lease forfeited only if your notice stated that election, so put that election in the notice (CCP 1174(a)). Where the tenant acted with malice, the court can add up to $600 in statutory damages to the rent and damages it awards (CCP 1174(b)).
The writ of possession and the 5-day lockout
The sheriff, as levying officer, serves the writ on an occupant or posts it and serves the tenant. If the occupants haven’t left within five days of service, the sheriff removes them and puts you in possession (CCP 715.020). The usual extensions for mailed service don’t apply to that five days.
Even after judgment, a tenant can ask the court for relief from forfeiture on grounds of hardship, at any time before you get possession back. The court can grant it only if the tenant pays the full rent due or performs the broken covenant (CCP 1179).
Self-help, retaliation and timing near complaints
Civil Code 789.3 bars cutting utilities, changing locks, removing doors or windows or removing a tenant’s belongings to force a move-out. The tenant can recover actual damages plus up to $100 for each day of the violation, with a minimum of $250 for each cause of action, and the winning side recovers attorney’s fees.
Civil Code 1942.5 bars recovering possession, raising rent or cutting services in retaliation within 180 days after a tenant who isn’t in default on rent complains about habitability to you or to a code agency, or after an inspection or citation that followed such a complaint. Document a legitimate reason for any notice served in that window.
Federal rules: CARES Act notice and SCRA
If the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, or takes part in a covered federal housing program, Section 4024(c) of the CARES Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), bars requiring a tenant to leave until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text remains and courts have split on whether it still applies. At a covered building, serving 30 days rather than three is the safer course.
Before a default judgment, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. 3931, requires a declaration on whether the tenant is in military service.
California eviction timeline at a glance
These are statutory minimums for a nonpayment case. Local ordinances, a contested trial or a busy sheriff’s office add time.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to pay or quit | 3 days, excluding weekends and judicial holidays | CCP 1161(2) |
| Notice to cure or quit | 3 court days | CCP 1161(3) |
| No-fault relocation payment | Within 15 calendar days of the notice | Civil Code 1946.2(d) |
| Tenant’s response | 10 court days after service (plus 5 if by mail) | CCP 1167 |
| Trial | Within 20 days of a request | CCP 1170.5(a) |
| Sheriff’s lockout | After 5 days from service of the writ | CCP 715.020(c) |
| Relief from forfeiture | Any time before possession is restored | CCP 1179 |
Worked example: one unit in a 20-unit Fresno building
Assume a $1,650 unit in a 20-unit Fresno building, assume no local eviction ordinance applies, and say rent is due Thursday, April 1, 2027. You personally serve a 3-day notice Friday, April 2. Three court days run through Wednesday, April 7. You file Thursday, April 8, and serve the tenant personally that day. Ten court days end Thursday, April 22. Assume default judgment and the writ on Friday, April 23, the sheriff serving the writ Wednesday, April 28, and the lockout Tuesday, May 4, after five days.
That’s 33 days from the missed rent to possession. The daily rent is about $54.25 ($1,650 × 12 ÷ 365), so lost rent is $1,790.14. Add an assumed $1,500 attorney fee, the $240 filing fee and an assumed $150 for service, and the minimum cost is $3,680.14. Before AB 2347 the answer period was five court days, so the same case now takes about a week longer, and a contested trial adds weeks more.
Alternatives, and selling with an unlawful detainer pending
A written payment plan or a cash-for-keys agreement, paying the tenant to leave by a set date, can cost less than a 33-day minimum timeline, especially where the tenant has a defense that would force a trial. Put any agreement in writing with a firm move-out date.
You can sell with a case open. The buyer takes the building subject to every lease and just-cause protection and steps into the landlord’s rights in the pending case. California’s deposit transfer and tenant notice rules apply at closing, and buyers will want estoppel certificates and the court file.
Selling your California apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in California, occupied and as-is, including buildings with problem tenants or a pending unlawful detainer. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
