Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

death of tenant
I own a condo, sister-in-law lived there for 12 years, she died, surviving brother and sister under the supervision of a drunken daughter refuse to talk with me but had a non family member call to tell me that they have every legal right to be in my condo as they paid the assn fees. none of these people have my permission to be there or use it. there is no rental agreement . they are removing the deceased sisters belongings at their leisure and asked no permission to stay in the condo, the brother ;has not spoken to me since 2005 and the sister has not spoken to me since she moved to Texas and I have nothing else to give to them. I have no objections to the personal items being removed, they have been in the condo for a week already and plan to pack as they want. i want them out and i want them out quickly. How best to go about it? who has the legal rights and who is trespassing?

Asked on 3/15/09, 3:25 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

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Re: death of tenant

As I finished writing this, I noticed that your zip code is listed as Florida. I'm going to assume the condo is in California, and therefore California law is applicable. If the Condo is in Florida, none of this is valid and you need to contact a Florida attorney:

You have a couple of options. If they did not live in the Condo with deceased sister-in-law, and without your knowledge and permission (or deceased sister-in-law's knowledge and permission), then they have what in California is referred to as a tenancy-at-sufferance. In that case, you can proceed to file an unlawful detainer without giving them any notice to move whatsoever. Alternatively, if they can in any way claim that they lived their with your deceased sister-in-law's permission, and by your allowing it, arguably yours, you need to give them notice to terminate any tenancy they have. Given that the deceased sister-in-law lived their twelve years, you may have to give them 60 days notice to terminate tenancy (any tenancy one-year or greater requires 60 days notice; less than one year requires 30 days notice). I would suggest that you consult with a California attorney in the vicinity of the condo to determine what the local Unlawful Detainer practice is. From court to court you do see some variance in how they are handled, and you want to make sure that when you go to court (which eventually you will have to) you win. Unlawful Detainers are easy to win if done correctly; similarly easy to lose if you make even small mistakes in procedure, including service and content of the notices. One last thing - contact the HOA management company immediately and change the mailing name and address for all communications including billing back to you - you do not want the kids receiving anything from the HOA, nor contacting the HOA on your behalf. If the condo is in Orange County, feel free to email me directly.

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Answered on 3/16/09, 1:09 pm

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