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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Real Estate and Landlording => Topic started by: Alex31 on June 21, 2020, 07:12:13 PM

Title: New Landlord Advice for Eviction - California
Post by: Alex31 on June 21, 2020, 07:12:13 PM
Hi, desperately need advice on current situation.

So I rented a single family home to tenant on one year lease. The lease expired in May and  I made decision to not renew the lease. While always paying in full, the tenant was habitually late on payments and generally difficult to deal with.

Informed tenant that lease would not be renewed, tenant initially agreed but then close to the lease end date the renter claimed that they were struggling at finding a new place. I (stupidly) agreed to extend the move out date to June 15th. June 15th has passed and renter still has not vacated the property, and is now claiming I need to give 60 day notice.

No rent has been paid for June, and renter is saying to take it from the deposit as they need funds to find new place.

What are my options here?

Should I start eviction based on non payment of rent? Technically the lease has finished so I'm not sure.

Any help would be very appreciated. Thanks. 
Title: Re: New Landlord Advice for Eviction - California
Post by: ixtap on June 21, 2020, 07:21:18 PM
You need to consult with someone familiar with your local laws and especially the details of any eviction moratoriums currently in place. Most of those are for non payment, not staying beyond the end of lease, but you will need to know for sure.
Title: Re: New Landlord Advice for Eviction - California
Post by: Another Reader on June 21, 2020, 08:42:53 PM
There are state laws and local ordinances in California about termination and eviction that need to be followed carefully.  Additional COVID-related rules have been imposed.  Start by researching the law in your jurisdiction.  If the tenant refuses to vacate, you will likely need an attorney.

Next time, screen more carefully...
Title: Re: New Landlord Advice for Eviction - California
Post by: Bloop Bloop on June 25, 2020, 02:47:33 AM
I'm very sorry to hear about this.

Just make sure you do whatever you can to put the tenant on the rental blacklist after he moves out, so that no one ever has to deal with this irresponsible person again.

Title: Re: New Landlord Advice for Eviction - California
Post by: ctuser1 on June 25, 2020, 04:45:06 AM
CA is known for being especially tenant friendly.

I live in CT and have heard horror stories from colleagues (accidental landlords after 2008) where they sat for 6 months without rent before they could evict the tenant from their - trashed - property. I'd expect CA laws to be even more lopsided in favor of tenants, especially during this time with the pandemic.

It may appear expensive now, but I think they best thing to do is to consult with an attorney in your local area. It will likely cost you some money (maybe a couple of hundred now + a couple of grand in retainer for his services), but I am afraid the costs you are likely to soon start incurring is going to be much higher.

I would look up which attorneys represent the big landlords in your area. Usually each state would have a website that will tell you who would be authorized to receive lawsuits, that's typically the lawyer's office. I'd visit them for a consult, and if satisfied with the discussion, would be ready to write a check for retainer.

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(edited to add later)
This is the state government portal where you can search authorized agents for large landlords (that are large enough to be "corporations") in your local area.
https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/cbs-search-tips/

These are typically some large lawyer's offices. They should have boilerplate processes for eviction appropriate for the local laws.
Title: Re: New Landlord Advice for Eviction - California
Post by: SimpleCycle on June 25, 2020, 09:52:42 AM
You need to talk to a lawyer in your area.  You may have inadvertently converted the lease to month-to-month by allowing them the June 15th move out date, which could make the eviction take longer.

However, you are basically screwed because housing courts in California are not evicting people during the COVID state of emergency except as needed to protect public health and safety.

https://www.courts.ca.gov/43589.htm

That said, they still need to pay rent.  A lawyer can help you with how to serve proper notice of their need to pay rent.

Edited to add: generally I think evicting during a pandemic is pretty poor form, but it sounds like your tenants are taking advantage of the situation.