Eviction FAQ's
Serving Notices
If I mailed the notice by certified mail only, is it
still a valid service?
I served a 30-Day notice to my tenant and they haven't
paid their rent for this month, what can I do?
If I recently bought a property and want to evict the
tenants left in there by the original owner and who are
current on their rent, can I serve them a 30-Day Notice
to Terminate Tenancy?
I know the first name of a person living in my property
who doesn't belong in the property and didn't sign the
rental agreement, so should I include them on the
notice?
Tenants Giving Notice
If my tenant gives me a 30-Day Notice to Terminate
Tenancy, are they responsible for the rent for the
entire thirty days even if they move out prior to the
thirty days ending? And what happens if they fail to
move within those thirty days?
My tenants moved out without giving proper notice, are
they responsible for the rent that is still due for the
days they were there?
Tenant's Personal Items
There are still personal items of the tenant(s) left in
the property after the lockout and/or after the tenants
turned in keys/moved out, what do I do with them?
My tenant left their dog, cat or other household pet
behind, what do I do with it?
Rent & Utilities
I
want to raise my tenants rent more than 10%, can I do
this and if so what type of notice do I have to give?
The utilities are in my name but the
tenant is supposed to pay them and they are past due,
can I shut them off? Or the utilities are in my name,
and I've paid them all along but since they aren't
paying me why should I pay the utilities?
Miscellaneous
I want to inspect the dwelling unit, but the tenant's
won't let me in, can I just go in?
The tenants are destroying the
property, what can I do?
A "squatter" moved into my property with out my
knowledge and I called the police and they told me I had
to evict the squatter, is that true?
I let a relative move into my property to allow them to
get their finances in order. I let them live there rent
free but it was only supposed to be for a short time.
They've been there almost 18 months and I want to rent
the property out to someone else. What do I do?
Judgments
I received a money judgment that was entered against the
tenant that I evicted, but what is it?
Landlord Services, Inc. Fees
What does Landlord Services charge for
an eviction?
Answers
Serving Notices
If I mailed the notice by certified mail only, is it
still a valid service?
This type of service can only be done for 30/90-Day
notices, not 3-Day notices. Then it depends on if the
tenant signed for the notice himself or herself. If this
is how you want to serve, or did serve, make sure you
checked the box that said someone had to sign for the
notice when you filled out the certified mail form. Also
remember that the post office will attempt up to three
times to deliver the notice before returning it to you,
this can take up to 15 or more days for the procedure,
and if it is returned as unclaimed, you have just lost
those 15 days. If it's signed by the tenant, it can be
argued to be a personal service. If its signed by
someone else other than the tenant-this is a little
harder to prove as a substitute service because of age
factors and such so it would be wise to try and
personally serve the notice or posting of the property.
If the notice comes back as never been received,
definitely go and serve the notice by either personal,
substitute, or posting and first class U.S. mail.
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I served a 30-Day notice to my tenant and they haven't
paid their rent for this month, what can I do?
Serve them with a
3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit, and if they don't
comply, you can begin the Unlawful Detainer as soon as
the 3-Day expires instead of waiting for the 30-Day
Notice to expire.
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If I recently bought a property and want to evict the
tenants left in there by the original owner and who are
current on their rent, can I serve them a 30-Day Notice
to Terminate Tenancy?
Yes if the tenant has lived there less than 12
months, if the tenant has lived there more than 12
months, regardless of the owner, a 60 Day Notice to
Terminate Tenancy must be served. The length of time
that the tenants have lived in the property doesn't
start over with a new owner.
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I know the first name of a person living in my property
who doesn't belong in the property and didn't sign the
rental agreement, so should I include them on the
notice?
If you are informed and believe that a person is
living in the property who is not a party to the rental
agreement, you should name them on the notice. If you
have knowledge of their presence and their name, then
they are not an "unknown occupant" so they should be
included on the notice.
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Tenant Giving Notice
If my tenant gives me a 30-Day Notice to Terminate
Tenancy, are they responsible for the rent for the
entire thirty days even if they move out prior to the
thirty days ending? And what happens if they fail to
move within those thirty days?
Yes, the tenant is required to pay the rent for the
entire 30 days. If the tenant fails to move after the
expiration of their 30-Day Notice, you can proceed with
an eviction against the tenants with no further notice.
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My tenants moved out without giving proper notice, are
they responsible for the rent that is still due for the
days they were there?
Yes, the tenant is actually responsible for the rent
for a period of 30 days, beginning the date that the
owner finds out the property has been abandoned. You can
deduct the rent owed from their security deposit. If a
security deposit isn't available, you can file a small
claims complaint for the rent that is due.
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Tenant's Personal Items
There are still personal items of the tenant(s) left in
the property after the lockout and/or after the tenants
turned in keys/moved out, what do I do with them?
- All personal items left by the tenant must be kept
for a period of 15 days by law.
- If the items need to be removed from the property,
they must be stored in a safe place for the 15 days.
- You can charge the tenant either the daily rental
value of the property or the daily rental value of the
storage unit for storing their property.
- It is a good idea to mail a letter and post one on
the property, letting the tenant(s) know that their
property will either be disposed of or sold after the 15
days if it is not claimed. Remember always keep a copy
of any correspondence!
- After the 15 days have passed, if the items are
valued under $300.00 you can dispose of them.
- If the items are valued at $300.00 or over, a
public auction must be held.
- It is always a good idea to take pictures of all of
the items/property left behind as inventory of what was
disposed of or sold. Always anticipate the worst, and
hope for the best!
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My tenant left their dog, cat or other household pet
behind, what do I do with it?
An animal is considered personal property of the
tenants and must be stored and humanely taken care of
for 15 days. You can charge the tenant for the care and
storage of the animal if they wish to reclaim it. Once
15 days has passed, you can keep the animal, find it a
home, or take it to the nearest animal shelter. Send a
notice to the tenants and post one on the property.
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Rent & Utilities
I want to raise my tenants rent more than 10%, can I do
this and if so what type of notice do I have to give?
You can raise the rent more than 10% as long as the
tenant is not on a fixed term lease or in a rent
controlled area such as L.A., and all that you need to
do is give the tenant a 60-Day Notice of Change in Terms
of Tenancy instead of the usual 30-Day Notice.
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The utilities are in my name but the tenant is supposed
to pay them and they are past due, can I shut them off?
Or the utilities are in my name, and I've paid them all
along but since they aren't paying me why should I pay
the utilities?
No! You cannot turn the utilities off. Even if the
utilities are past due and they aren't paying you, you
cannot stop paying them or have them turned off. Doing
so will only cause you more problems in the end. These
actions can be construed as retaliatory towards the
tenant, especially during an eviction. Turning off the
utilities could also stop the eviction entirely.
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Miscellaneous
I want to inspect the dwelling unit, but the tenant's
won't let me in, can I just go in?
No, first you need to serve them with a
24 Hours Notice of
Intent to Enter Dwelling. Once the 24 hours are up,
you may inspect the unit. If the tenant still refuses to
allow you to inspect the property, you may have to get
local law enforcement involved in order to enforce the
notice. Not all local law enforcements will allow you to
go in, but if you properly served the notice and educate
the officer about Civil Code §1954, and possibly have a
copy of the code with you to show the officer.
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The tenants are destroying the property, what can I do?
Call the local law enforcement. If there is physical
signs that the property is being destroyed, call local
law enforcement to make a report, let them know that
this may be happening because you either served the
tenant with some sort of a notice or that they are in
the process of an eviction. If the destruction is raised
to a point of vandalism, this is a separate crime and
local law enforcement should be contacted and charges
should be brought against the tenants.
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A "squatter" moved into my property with out my
knowledge and I called the police and they told me I had
to evict the squatter, is that true?
Unfortunately, yes. The squatter must first be served
with a 30-Day Notice to Terminate Tenancy, they are a
tenant at will. If they don't comply with the notice,
you will have to start an Unlawful Detainer against
them.
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I let a relative move into my property to allow them to
get their finances in order. I let them live there rent
free but it was only supposed to be for a short time.
They've been there almost 18 months and I want to rent
the property out to somebody else. What do I do?
In this situation the tenant is a "tenant at will",
you can serve them with a 30-Day Notice to Quit.
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Judgments
I received a money judgment that was entered against the
tenant that I evicted, but what is it?
The money judgment will usually be on the tenant's
credit for ten years and can be renewed thereafter for a
small fee for anther ten years. Soon after a case is
filed, the tenant will usually have an unlawful
detainer/eviction showing on their credit. If a money
judgment is entered for the eviction, the judgment will
usually appear on their credit.
The money judgment is needed for any form of
collections, whether it is through a collection agency
or by way of a wage garnishment or bank levy.
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Landlord Services, Inc.
What does Landlord Services charge for an eviction?
Evictions start at $350 plus costs. Components
of the fee structure include:
- Processing fee
- Up to 2 known defendants
- Court filing fee
- Hand filing with the court
- Process servers fee to serve the summons
- Default/proof of service paperwork
- Issuance of Writ
- Sheriff's fee for an eviction
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