Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Roomate eviction

I am on the lease, my roommate of is not. We have a month to month verbal agreement. In march I gave him a verbal 30 days notice that he needed to be out by April 1st, as of today he and his stuff are still in my house and he is refusing to pay rent for April. I gave him a 3 day notice on the 3rd. He is 11 days late with the rent and has been getting more and more hostile with me everyday, to the point that I don't even want to go home. All of his belongings are still in his room. What are my options to reclaim the unpaid rent money for this month and kick him out at the same time? Can I remove his belongings from his room as long as I store them safely in my garage? Can I change the locks on him?


Asked on 4/06/08, 3:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mitchell Roth MW Roth, Professional Law Corporation

Re: Roomate eviction

You have to evict him through court action. A 30 day verbal notice does not terminate his tenancy. Giving him a 3 day notice for April's rent waives the 30 day notice anyway. The 3 day notice to pay rent or quit has to comply with the law to be effective. If it does, you must file an unlawful detainer action to evict. The statutory requirements are precise. You may best be served by hiring a law firm that does this kind of work exclusively. Katz & Block is one of the oldest. It will cost you several hundred to evict.

If he has moved out after the 3 day notice and just left things behind, you can move them into storage and give him notice that he must reclaim his property and pay reasonable storage, or else they wall be sold to pay for storage. That too must be done in compliance with the Code. Provisins related to both issues are in the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure.

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Answered on 4/06/08, 3:51 pm


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