Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

My husband and I want our son to move off our property. We are an elderly couple who lives on a very fixed income, we both get from Social Security (SSI) and from my husbands' retirement/pension. Our son is an adult male (fifty-one years old), unemployed/retired, also receives SSI and retirement benefits, but, our son is verbally abusive towards us, an alcoholic, has AIDS, and has not made any financial contributions for his living expenses to us in months. We took our son in when he needed our help. It's been three years, his crisis is over but now he refuses to leave. He owns a travel trailer that he now resides in. He's hooked it up and connects it to our daughters' house (in the back) she's been renting from us for almost seventeen years along with her husband and their children. He's making our lives a living hell and we want him off our property but he refuses to leave. So please, how do we rid of him???


Asked on 3/26/11, 10:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Unfortunately, you must give him written notice to leave -- perhaps up to 60 days because he's been there more than a year. When he doesn't do so, you will file an unlawful detainer lawsuit in court. Once you obtain judgment, you will have the sheriff enforce it. At that time, you will probably have to provide instructions to the sheriff that he lives in a trailer, and it will have to be towed away, as well.

It would probably be best to engage a lawyer in your area, because unlawful detainers are fraught with traps for the legally unsophisticated. Attorneys usually don't charge very much for these kinds of cases. This one might be a little trickier because the trailer is parked on your property.

You also might seek a civil harassment restraining order against him if he still threatens you.

This is a very unfortunate situation since it involves your own son. But adults have to take responsibility for their own lives which, apparently, he has not done.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail if you should have any questions.

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Answered on 3/26/11, 11:12 am


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