Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

My kids and I have been staying in a house with a lady and her adult son, We have been living there for six months now and everything was going fine , I helped the old lady out by cleaning up her house when ever I have a chance and told her that i would make extra food for her and her son for dinner anytime I made dinner at home to save her some money from having to eat out every night.like I said everything was going fine until about two months ago when her son started making advances at me,when I turned him down he told me that he was going to get his mom to kick us out, then when I would go out for a day he would start texting me things like " I have to get home and do my work., otherwise Im out of there today" . this has been going on for almost two months now, My two daughters and I went on a camping trip with my parents last weekend and were gone for three days the day we were coming back I got texts from him telling me that the house was a mess and as soon as we get back from camping and that he was going to have his cop friend come over and kick us out as soon as we got home. when we got back which was the day before yesterday we found that our room had been completely gone through and trashed so far I have only notice a few little things like our trash can and towels are missing. but I really cant tell yet if anything else has been taken because of how trashed they left my room.. then yesterday his mom told me I have to be out on the !st, which is three days away, and then today his mom told me that on friday at noon she is having a locksmith come out to change all the locks so i needed to have all our stuff out by then. I am a single mother of two little girls, Im on welfare how am i suppose to move in three days ,My cleaning their house was never an arrangment we made I only did it to try and helpout when I wasnt busy. is this legal for them to do?


Asked on 6/29/11, 11:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

First, I apologize that I could not get a response to you sooner. This reply may be too late. The lady from whom you have been renting cannot change the locks and kick you out. You are a legal tenant in the property, and they must follow the landlord-tenant laws which require at least a 30 day notice to terminate your tenancy, then if you do not leave, they must first file a lawsuit and get a judgment ordering the Sheriff to lock you out. They cannot simply do it themselves. If they forced you out, you can turn around and sue them for illegal eviction. This is something that can be done in Small Claims Court, and you can even apply for a waiver of the filing fee. A judgment against her might help you pay for a new place to live. Sorry again for what sounds like an aweful situation. I hope you have already found a new, better place to live.

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Answered on 7/11/11, 3:35 pm


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