Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

A woman has been renting out my upstairs loft for a few years now. She hasnt been staying there in at least a few months but stopped by on occasion (she has all of her stuff still up there). I didnt mind because she was paying rent. Almost 3 months ago she said she was moving out but still hasnt done it. She has no lease (we never signed one) and stopped paying rent. Since she hasnt actually been living their and she doesnt and never had a lease do I have to go through all of the legal 30 day notice and 6 months storage thing? Can I just change the locks and refuse her entry? Ive been working with her (she keeps coming up with excuses why she hasnt moved out) to try to make it easy but now Im fed up. Also its not my place my mom actually owns it so I dont know if that changes anything.


Asked on 8/22/14, 11:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

That fact that your mom owns the place means that your mom is the real interested party and you are either her agent or just some intermeddler. A tenancy is created when a person is allowed to occupy property with the permission of the landlord in exchange for rent. A written lease agreement is not required, so the short answer to your question is yes, your mom has to follow the law regarding abandonment/ unlawful detainers.

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Answered on 8/22/14, 3:01 pm


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