Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Person Living in our home

No, you cannot simply pack his things.

He is a month-to-month tenant even though nothing is written. Thus you must give him a 30 day written notice and then evict him through the courts if he fails to leave after 30 days.

Re: Person Living in our home

Attorney Wilson is correct. You cannot simply pack him up and move him out. This is referred to as "self help," and it is not permissible where the person in question is in fact a tenant. When you started taking rent from him, he became a tenant instead of a houseguest. Even if he had only contributed money towards utilities or food or something, he is considered a tenant.

Now, the question becomes one of what were the terms of the lease. Where there is no real express agreement (no we will lease to you for "X" dollars on a month-to-month basis), then the law will impute a month-to-month agreement. To terminate a month-to-month tenancy (which he probably has), you have to give him 30 days notice if he has lived in the home less than one year. If more than one year, then you must give him 60 days notice to terminate his tenancy. The notice must be in writing, and served on him personally, by substituted service or by "nail & mail" service. Since he is living in your house, the only type of service that makes sense is personal service when he gets back.

The one factor that might swing in favor of something different is the fact that he was paying you rent every two weeks. Depending upon what you expressly agreed upon with him, you might be able to argue that he has a bi-weekly tenancy, and only have to give him two weeks notice. This is a risky proposition, however, because when or if you have to evict him through legal process, if a judge decides it was a month-to-month tenancy, you have to start over! Best to give him 30 days notice, and if he doesn't leave after that, evict him through court process.

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