Videos
Unlawful Detainer:
A Comprehensive Overview
How do you file for an unlawful detainer and what is the process? When an eviction is started, the eviction is effectively the unlawful detainer. An unlawful detainer is the legal name or the legal cause of action when trying to evict an individual. The process of an unlawful detainer will always begin with the service of a notice. What type of notice is served will depend on the status of the occupant. For example, if the occupant is a tenant that has breached their lease agreement, then that tenant would be subject to a three-day notice. If the occupant is not a tenant but is, for example, a squatter, they would be subject to a 30-day notice. If the occupant is a tenant and the landlord wants to terminate the lease agreement or terminate a month-to-month tenancy because they no longer want to lease the property or it's what we call a no-fault eviction, generally speaking, the landlord would either give a 30-day notice or a 60-day notice. The 30-day notice is for any occupant living in a property for less than a year. A 60-day notice is for any occupant who has been living in a property for more than a year. Once the notice is served and the notice timeline expires, then the landlord or the owner of the property can begin with the unlawful detainer complaint. That process requires the landlord to serve a summons and complaint on the occupant and to file the summons and complaint with the court. Once the summons and complaint is filed with the court, the occupant will have up to 10 days to file a response. Typically, it's five days if they've been personally served, but it could be an additional five days if they were served by substituted service. Once the answer is filed, the landlord will then file a request to set trial. Under California law, the court is required to set trial within 21 days of receiving the request to set. Most courts will set trial within 14 days. Once a trial is set, the parties will go to trial. On the day of trial, before trial proceeds, the court will typically order the parties to a mandatory settlement conference in which they will attempt to resolve their dispute by providing the tenant with more time to vacate, or offering cash for keys, or some incentive so that the tenant does not have an eviction judgment on their record. If a mandatory settlement conference is not successful, then the parties will go immediately to trial. Should the landlord prevail and obtain a judgment for possession, that landlord will then bring the judgment to the court clerk and then also provide the court clerk with what's called a writ of possession. When the court issues a writ of possession, that writ of possession will then be sent to the sheriff's office, and within 10 days, the sheriff will post a five-day eviction notice, basically informing the occupants that they have five days to vacate. Otherwise, the sheriff will show up and forcibly remove them from the premises. When that date and time arises and the occupants have not vacated the property, the landlord and the sheriff will appear at the property. The landlord should have a locksmith with them and on that day, the sheriff will forcibly remove any and all persons in possession of the property. The landlord will then secure and rekey the premises through a landlord and depending on the condition of the property, the sheriff may recommend that the landlord or the owner of the property actually board up the premises to prevent tenants from coming in or to prevent reentry into the property.
Prop 47 and California's Homelessness Crisis
It's a fact. California's homeless population has gone up 51% since 2014 when Prop 47 passed. However, in the rest of the nation, homelessness has gone down 11%. That's not just a coincidence. There's a reason why the homelessness has shot up 51% in California, and it's directly related to the drugs. The drugs that Prop 47 decriminalized or took to a de minimis ticket are flowing like water on the streets. This isn't a housing crisis. That's a false narrative. This is a drug crisis, and 95% to 100% of the homeless populations in our communities are suffering from serious drug addiction, which is often co-occurring with mental illness, which can be triggered by the drugs and usually is triggered by the drugs, right? Right. But these folks are sick. They're really sick, and they need help. They need treatment.
Sheriff Evictions:
A Step-by-Step Guide
What is the sheriff's eviciton process? So the sheriff's authority to evict arises from the writ of possession. Once that writ of possession is provided to the sheriff's office and the sheriff has instructions from the landlord as to how to complete the eviction, the sheriff will then take the writ of possession and will post the writ of possession as well as a five-day notice on the premises. That five-day notice effectively tells the occupants that if they are not out within five days, the sheriff will show up the property to forcibly remove the tenants. However, for the purposes of officer safety, most of the time the sheriff will not show up on the fifth day. Rather, the sheriff will call the landlord to schedule a specific date and time to do the sheriff eviction. When that date and time arises and the occupants have not vacated the property, the landlord and the sheriff will appear at the property. The landlord should have a locksmith with them and on that day, the sheriff will forcibly remove any and all persons in possession of the property. The landlord will then secure and rekey the premises through a landlord and depending on the condition of the property, the sheriff may recommend that the landlord or the owner of the property actually board up the premises to prevent tenants from coming in or to prevent reentry into the property.
Adding a Trustee
for Senior Protection
Rod: In estate planning, how can you actually protect yourself as an elder, as a family member, as your caregiver, as your caretakers? Dustin: First of all, we have to find somebody who's trustworthy. Rod: Right. Dustin: Like that, you have to have at least one person in your life. And so what we do now is when somebody comes in and they could be 70, 80, 90 years old, but they still have their, they still have their marbles. They don't need help. That's when you want to get started doing this. You don't want to try to buy a fire insurance after the fire starts, right? So before you need it, we change your trust and we add that trusted child, that nephew, somebody that first doesn't need your money. Second, you know has your best interest. Third, we know is going to help protect you. And we add them as a co-trustee or maybe the trustee. And then we go around and literally someone from my office goes to the bank and the financial advisor and the investment guy and the broker, whatever. And we add them on all of the accounts as a co-trustee. Now, first of all, that person has a fiduciary duty, a legal obligation to take care of the senior. Right. But second, now we have another, more importantly, we have another set of eyes on it. So if an account drops from 100,000 to 50,000 in a month, somebody else is going to get a notice and say, what the hell just happened? Right. Where did that money go? And so we add, so now we have say a century at the gate. We have a guard at the gate. Before we just had the little old lady who could be bamboozled like that.
Eviction Laws in California
Are there any laws that would allow for a quicker eviction process? California is not a self-help state. In other words, it means that a landlord or owner of property cannot take actions into their own hands and throw someone out of their property. Under California law, the only way to remove a tenant or occupant from property, from real property is through the eviction process. But that is why evictions are called summary proceedings. They are required by law to be quick and require a quick turnaround. This is why courts are required to set trial within 21 days. And this is also why occupants are required to respond to an eviction complaint within five days. The shorter timeline allows for a faster eviction process.