Service of the 3-Day Notice

The law states that you must be given a 3-Day Notice in writing. The courts are not always strict about how the landlord gives the 3-Day Notice to you. However, the law says that the landlord must give the notice to in one of the following ways:

    Personal Service — by handing you a copy.
    Substituted Service — if you are not home or at your usual workplace, a copy can be left at either place with a person who is old enough to understand the importance of the 3-Day Notice. A copy of the notice must also be mailed to you. Keep the envelope in which the notice was mailed.
    “Nail and Mail” — if the landlord cannot do either of the above, a copy of the 3-Day Notice can be posted on your property in a place that you will find it. A copy of the notice must also be mailed to you.

What could happen if my landlord takes me to court to evict me?

If the landlord takes you to court to evict you, you will get legal papers called a “Summons” and a “Complaint.” Make a note of what day you receive these papers. You have 5 days from the day you receive the Summons and Complaint to respond to the court. To count the 5 days: start counting with the day after you received the papers. You must count Saturdays and Sundays, but do not count court holidays. If the 5th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, you will have until the end of the next court business day to “answer” these papers.

Example: Jane gets the Summons and Complaint papers on a Monday. Tuesday is the first day of the 5 days. The 5th day would be a Saturday. Jane has until the next business day, Monday, to file her papers. If Monday is a holiday, Jane has until Tuesday.

If you want to fight the eviction, you should contact a legal aid lawyer immediately. Do NOT wait until the fifth day to call!! If you wait until the last minute, they may not be able to help you.

Within those 5 days, you can file a written response to the landlord’s summons and complaint. You must use the right legal form and file it in the same court where the “Complaint” was filed. This form is called an “Answer.” If you are low-income and file a separate form called an “Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs,” you will probably not need to pay the court filing fees. You can get both the Answer and the Fee Waiver forms at the court clerk’s office.

When you fill out the Answer, you will need to list any legal defenses to the eviction. After you file the Answer, you will receive a “Memorandum to Set Case for Trial” and a notice of the trial date by mail. Generally, the trial must be within 20 days of when the landlord files the “Memorandum to Set Case for Trial.” The court clerk must mail you the notice telling you when the trial will be at least ten days before the trial. When your court date comes up, plan to arrive early at the courthouse so that you can find parking, get through the security check, and find the courtroom. If you are late and the judge has already called your case, you will lose your case.

What could happen if I ignore the summons and complaint and do nothing?

After the five days are up, if you have not filed an Answer to challenge the eviction, the landlord can ask the court clerk for a “default judgment.” If this happens, you will NOT go before a judge. This means that the landlord automatically wins the case and gets the property back from you.

Sometimes the court will allow you to “re-open” the case after entering a “default judgment” if you have a good reason for not filing the Answer on time. If this happens to you, contact a legal aid organization and ask for assistance with a default eviction.

NOTE: You should not assume that the court will allow you to “re-open” your case. In many cases, the tenant’s request is denied. Therefore, you must try to file your Answer within the 5 days so that you do not lose your case by missing a legal deadline.

What could happen if I lose in court or after a judgment against me?

If the landlord wins or gets a default judgment against you, the landlord will get a form called a “Writ of Possession.” The landlord takes this writ to the Sheriff’s Department who will then bring you (or post on your door) a “Notice to Vacate.” The notice will give you at least 5 days before the officer will come back to evict you. The Notice to Vacate will tell you exactly by what date and time you must be out of the house or apartment. Even if you are not completely moved out, the sheriff can prevent you from re-entering the house to get your stuff after the time and date listed on the notice. If you cannot get all of your belongings out in time, at least remove your important papers, medications, valuables, and clothing. If you leave things behind, you can claim them within 15 days of the eviction, but you will have to pay the storage and removal costs. However, the landlord cannot require you to pay back rent, attorney’s fees or court costs in order to get your belongings back.

How long does the eviction process take?

If you do not file an “Answer” to the eviction notice, the sheriff may be out to evict you as soon as 11 days after you receive the Summons and Complaint. If you file an Answer to the lawsuit, the process will take a little longer. Do not expect the entire process to take more than 1 month—it could take even less than 1 month. Contrary to some popular belief, you can be evicted if even if you are pregnant, have small children, have an unexpected financial hardship (like losing your job), if you’ve never been late with the rent before or if you have nowhere else to move.

I live in transitional housing, and the housing provider (or parole) is trying to evict me with very little notice & without going to court. Is this legal & what are my options?

In most cases, a transitional housing provider MUST follow all of the normal rules and laws to evict you. That means they must follow all of the rules for giving you proper notice and taking you to court if they want to evict you.[1380]

** There is one VERY SMALL EXCEPTION that could allow a transitional housing provider to evict you more quickly than the standard court process. However, for this exception to apply, it must be explicitly written in the contract you signed with the transitional housing provider. There are other requirements beyond that, but at a minimum, if it’s not in your contract with the transitional housing provider, then the transitional housing provider can’t evict you overnight, with little notice, or without first going to court.

If this issue is a condition of your supervision (a requirement of parole or probation), see the PAROLE & PROBATION CHAPTER, beginning on PG. 125, to learn more about rules (called “conditions”) of different types of supervision in California, and how to challenge them.

  1. 1380

    Transitional Housing Participant Misconduct Act, Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 50580-50582. ↑