Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

The "Code" changes all the time. Only new construction has to be "up to code" at any given time. So almost no rental properties are "up to code." If the premises are not legally habitable, that is a different story. If it is not legally habitable, then you need to assert that as a defense in your answer to the Unlawful Detainer complaint, and you need to get the local health department or other appropriate enforcement agency to come in and issue a citation on the defects. Without official citation of the defects, a non-habitability defense is very hard to win.

Are you the owner, or a tenant? If you are a tenant, who has told you that you must be evicted because the olace is not up to code? Not nearly all code violations require that the place be emptied by eviction of the tenant. The landlord may just be using this as an excuse. If someone such as a building inspector has decided the place is unfit for human habitation and you are being evicted as a result of red-tagging or other governmental action, that's another matter. Also, are you on a month-to-month rental, or do you have a lease with months or years left to run before it expires? If you are month-to-minth, the landlord could give you notice and end your tenancy in 30 to 60 days anyway, so you just need to keep trying to find another place, maybe with a roommate if price is an issue. If you are the owner and the city is evicting you from your own home, you need to address the habitability issue in the citation, asap.