Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Cotenant Owner Locks Out other Cotenant

Cotenants, whether 50-50 or otherwise, all have a simultaneous right to possess the entire property. Your father cannot legally lock you out, and if the rents part or all of the property without your joining him as a co-lessor, he has only leased his right of possession, you have yours, and there is a kind of de facto roommate situation created where both the tenant and you have the right to occupy and use the unit.

What has happened here is called an ouster. An ouster occurs when one co-owner interferes with the right of the other to the extent that the first can no longer enjoy his right of ownership without fear of creating a breach of the peace.

There is a specific remedy for ouster provided in California's statutes, and it is not partition. Obtain and read Civil Code section 843; it describes the process. If possible, get an annotated copy of the code from the county law library at the courthouse in Santa Rosa. Basically, you serve your father with a demand citing CC 843 and alleging certain facts. He than has 60 days to share possession with you.

As your Zip code suggests were are nearly neighbors (I'm in 94971), I would be happy to make an appointment to give you a free consultation.

Re: Cotenant Owner Locks Out other Cotenant

Unfortunately, if your father is unwilling to cooperate with you, your only alternative to force him allow access and to account for the loss of rents, is to file a partition action. A mediator can simply sit down with both sides and try to reach a common ground; however, a mediator cannot force your father to act in accordance with your wishes.

If you want to try a mediator, you can find one by calling Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, Inland Valley Arbitration and Mediation Service, Desert Arbitration and Mediation Service, or similar services in your area.

In a partition action, your father could be forced to account for the rents he claims to be receiving for his rental of the units. You can also ask for your father to pay half of the attorney's fees you incurr in bringing the partition action on the theory that you are bringing the action to protect the value of the property for all owners.

Finally, I don't quite know what you mean whey you ask "will the courts accept this type of service?" If you are asking whether a court will enforce something a mediator does, the answer would be that it is unlikely.