Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Illegally moved in

Sadly, your eager renters are correct. There is no such thing as "self help" in the landlord/tenant arena. Even though they took possession without permission, you must serve the proper notice and then, when they don't leave, you must file an unlawful detainer (legalspeak for "eviction"). It will take a while; and there are, unfortunately, ways for the "tenant" to delay things. Best case scenario, you will have a sheriff throwing them out within 6-8 weeks. Worst case, they wait until the sheriff is on the doorstep and then file bankruptcy, which delays things even more.

We are real estate litigators with extensive experience prosecuting and defendant landlord/tenant cases. Feel free to call or email if you would like us to provide further analysis.

Good luck.

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Re: Illegally moved in

I did one of these a few years ago. The savvy "tenants" made up a lease so it was a civil matter. Once evicted through the legal process, they moved into my client's other property. We got them evicted from there, too. Then they sued my client, me, the judge, and on and on it went. Eventually we prevailed, but it took perseverance. Please let me know if I may help.