Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Unlawful Detainer / eviction notice

You have no real defense to a nonpayment of rent eviction action. If you do not pay the rent within 5 days of it's due date, the landlord can send you a 3 day notice demanding that you make payment by a certain date or your lease is forfeited. Once the 3 days goes by, even if you tender the rent, you can still be evicted. There are no poverty, hardship, etc. defenses. About the only way I know of to stop it is if the premises are untenantable and you serve a demand on him to bring it up to standard (1941 Civil Code violation). But, the place would have to be pretty dilapidated for that to work.

Once the 3 days expires, the landlord would have to file an unlawful detainer (eviction) complaint in court and serve it on you. You will have 5 days to file an answer. Once you answer, the hearing will be within 20 days of that. Once the trial is held and an eviction judgment issues, they use the judgment to file an eviction writ, and you will have 5 days from the time it is served on you to get out or be removed by the sheriff.

So, I would strongly recommend here that if your landlord simply won't negotiate on this point, find a way to pay the rent before the expiration of any 3-day letter from the landlord.

Re: Unlawful Detainer / eviction notice

Have you already been served a 3 day notice to pay rent? Have you already been served with a complaint in Unlawful Detainer (Eviction Proceedings). If so, you have 5 days to answer the complaint. Otherwise you will be kicked out of court and not able to respond. Resultingly, you will be evicted in a very short time. We can help you defend the case. We charge $250/hour. Depending on the circumstances, it could cost approximately $2500 out of your pocket. Since you didn't pay rent, you will lose. And, you'll be responsible for their attorneys fees and costs on top of any amount owed for the rent. My suggestion is to find a new place to live in a hurry. Good luck and thanks for inquiring.

Re: Unlawful Detainer / eviction notice

I am presuming you have already been served the 3 day notice to pay rent or quit. The best thing for you to do in this situation is to move out before trial if you can. You will need to file an answer to keep the case from going to default. You may qualify for a waiver of filing fees. If not, the filing fees are $135. Case law says that if you move out before trial, no unlawful detainer judgment may be entered against you. However, most judges ignore this law unless an attorney holds them to it. Believe me, you do not want an unlawful detainer judgment on your credit report. If you cannot move out before trial, I could still probably get you two weeks and still keep an unlawful detainer judgment from being entered against you. My fees (not including filing fees)for San Bernardino County usually range from $400 to $500 depending on which court I have to appear in. You may have to pay filing fees in addition to this.