Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

�No statute or case law authorizes awards of attorney fees in unlawful detainer actions generally.� (Selma Auto Mall II v. Appellate Department (5th Dist. 1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 1672, 1684.) A landlord cannot recover attorney's fees as costs, unless they are provided for in a written lease or rental agreement.

That law, however, deals with a situation where the landlord is successful in the unlawful detainer action, and has obtained a judgment of possession. The landlord does not have to accept your late rent after expiration of a notice to pay rent or quit. If he does so, as part of a settlement, he or she may ask for his or her attorney's fees as part of any settlement. In that situation, the issue depends on whether you want to pay that and get out of the eviction, or get evicted.