Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

i,

I recently invited a friend to live with me for free, without drawing up any agreement. We had a verbal agreement that she could stay a couple of months, but after two weeks, it is not working out and I asked her yesterday to leave as soon as she can. I think it will go fine, but I want to know what I am legally allowed to do to forcibly evict her if she decides to take her sweet time. She ended up in a big fight with her previous landlord, and has some funny ideas about responsibility. Can I take all her stuff, put it on the sidewalk and change the locks if I want to? Or does she have some sort of legal rights since I invited her into my home to stay for a while? I obviously am in full communication and don't want things to go badly, but I also want to protect myself if they do. Thanks. BTW, I live in California, that might make a big difference.


Asked on 9/16/09, 10:15 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Philip Iadevaia Law Offices of Philip A. Iadevaia

No, you can't take her stuff and throw it out: not because she'll probably retaliate, but because it's not right. You were friends once and if you can't get back to that relationship, then California law allows you to give her a notice to quit that allows her 7 Days to 30 days to vacate. If her understanding of the agreement was that she'd stay a month, then give her a 30 day notice; if it was for a week, then give her a 7 day notice. This approach is considered proper because the tenant is a "lodger" rather than a month-to-month tenant. Then if she stays passed that time, you can call the police and have her taken out for trespassing under Penal Code section 602.3. Good luck...

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Answered on 9/18/09, 5:40 pm


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