How you kick someone out of your house in California depends entirely on one question: is the person legally a guest or a tenant? A guest who refuses to leave is trespassing, and police can escort them out. A tenant has legal protections that require written notice and a court-ordered eviction, a process that typically runs 30 to 45 days or longer.1Judicial Branch of California. The Eviction Process for Landlords Get that classification wrong and you can end up as the defendant in your own case.
Is the Person a Guest or a Tenant
Before you do anything else, figure out which category applies. California does not have a bright-line rule like “after 30 days you’re a tenant.” Courts look at the full picture, and several facts push someone from guest toward tenant:
- Paying toward utilities, groceries, or anything a court could read as rent.
- Receiving mail at the address.
- Having a key and coming and going independently.
- Moving in furniture or a significant volume of belongings.
No single factor settles it, but the longer someone stays and the more they fold into the household, the stronger the case that they’ve become a “tenant at will.” A long-term partner or an adult child who has lived in the home for months will almost certainly be treated as a tenant, whether or not the word “rent” ever came up.
This matters because the two paths are completely different. If the person is a guest, you can have them out today. If they’re a tenant, you cannot — not legally, not even in your own home.
Removing a Guest Who Refuses to Leave
If the person is truly a guest with no tenancy indicators, tell them clearly they need to leave. Once a guest refuses to go after you’ve revoked permission to stay, they are trespassing under California Penal Code 602, which specifically covers refusing to leave private property after the owner asks.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 602
Call local law enforcement. When officers arrive, they’ll size up whether the person is really a guest or has established tenancy. If it’s clear the individual is a guest, police can remove them without a court order. The catch: if the person claims to be a tenant and there’s any ambiguity, officers will often call it a civil matter and tell you to go through eviction. That’s why the guest-versus-tenant analysis matters before you pick up the phone.
Written Notice: The First Step of Any Eviction
When the person qualifies as a tenant, you cannot call police, you cannot change the locks, and you cannot “ask them firmly.” The process begins with the right written notice. Which one depends on the situation:
- A 30-day notice to quit if the tenant has been there less than one year.3Judicial Branch of California. Types of Eviction Notices Landlords
- A 60-day notice to quit if the tenant has been there one year or more.3Judicial Branch of California. Types of Eviction Notices Landlords
- A 3-day notice to pay rent or quit when the tenant owes back rent. This notice can include only past-due rent — not late fees, utility charges, or bounced check fees. If the amount demanded is wrong, the notice is invalid.4Judicial Branch of California. Types of Eviction Notices Tenants
Every notice must be in writing and include the tenant’s full name, the property address, and the date by which they must leave. For the 3-day notice, you count only court days. Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays don’t count, and day one is the first day after the tenant receives the notice.4Judicial Branch of California. Types of Eviction Notices Tenants
Delivery has to be done correctly too. California prefers personal service, where someone hands the papers directly to the tenant. If that fails, you can use substituted service by leaving the papers with another adult at the tenant’s home or workplace and mailing a copy. Posting and mailing is only allowed with a judge’s permission after the other methods have failed.5California Courts. Serve the Summons and Complaint Forms
Filing an Unlawful Detainer Case
If the tenant doesn’t comply by the notice deadline, you file an Unlawful Detainer lawsuit in the superior court of the county where the property sits. Filing before the notice period fully expires invalidates the case.6Judicial Branch of California. Fill Out Forms to Start an Eviction Case
You’ll need four court forms to open the case: a Summons (SUM-130), a Complaint (UD-100), a Plaintiff’s Mandatory Cover Sheet (UD-101), and a Civil Case Cover Sheet (CM-010).6Judicial Branch of California. Fill Out Forms to Start an Eviction Case Filing fees as of 2026 range from $240 to $435 depending on the amount in dispute.7Judicial Branch of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
Once filed, the tenant must be formally served with the court papers. They then have ten court days to file a written response.8California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1167 Court days skip Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays, so the calendar time is roughly two weeks. If no response comes in, you can ask the court for a default judgment. If the tenant does respond, either side can request a trial, and the trial must be held within 20 days of that request.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1170.5
Budget for filing fees, process server costs of roughly $50 to $150, and attorney fees if the matter goes to trial. Contested cases, especially those where the tenant raises defenses like habitability problems or retaliation, run longer than the standard 30 to 45 days.
The Sheriff Lockout
Winning the case doesn’t let you march in and swap the locks. After the court enters judgment in your favor, you file a Writ of Execution (form EJ-130) with the court clerk and take it to the sheriff’s office.10California Courts | Self Help Guide. After the Eviction Trial Decision
The sheriff serves a Notice to Vacate giving the tenant five days to leave. If they’re still there when that deadline passes, the sheriff returns, physically removes them, and locks the property.10California Courts | Self Help Guide. After the Eviction Trial Decision Only then is the eviction complete. Until the sheriff performs the lockout, the tenant has a legal right to remain in the home.
Belongings Left Behind
After the lockout, you’ll often find possessions still in the home. California law does not let you throw everything in a dumpster. Under Civil Code sections 1983 and 1984, you must send the former tenant written notice describing the property, telling them where they can pick it up, and setting a deadline to claim it. The notice period is generally 15 days for personal delivery and 18 days if mailed. If they don’t claim it in time, you can sell or dispose of items depending on estimated value, and any sale proceeds beyond reasonable storage and sale costs belong to the former tenant.
Toss the belongings immediately and you hand the person you just evicted a fresh lawsuit for the value of what you destroyed.
What You Cannot Legally Do
California strictly prohibits “self-help” eviction. No matter how frustrated you get, you cannot force a tenant out by making the home unlivable. The law specifically bans:
- Changing the locks or installing any device that keeps the tenant out.
- Removing the tenant’s belongings without their written consent.
- Shutting off water, gas, or electricity.
- Taking off doors or windows to make the home uninhabitable.11California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 789.3
The penalties stack. Civil Code 789.3 makes you liable for the tenant’s actual damages plus up to $100 for every day you stay in violation.11California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 789.3 Civil Code 1940.2 adds up to $2,000 per violation for using threats, force, intimidation, or immigration-status threats to push a tenant out.12California Legislative Information. California Civil Code Section 1940.2 Those run on top of any damages the tenant seeks in a lawsuit, and an illegal lockout can torpedo your pending eviction case entirely.
If the Person Has Been Violent or Threatening
Eviction is not your only option when the person is a spouse, domestic partner, someone you’ve dated, a co-parent, or a close relative who has been violent or threatening. California allows victims of domestic violence to seek a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, and a judge can issue a temporary order the same day — including a move-out order — without the other person present.13Judicial Branch of California. Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in California A hearing for a longer-term order is then scheduled within about three weeks. If you’re in immediate danger, call 911; officers can request an Emergency Protective Order from a judge by phone that takes effect right away and lasts up to seven days.
If the Person Is Active-Duty Military
Federal law adds another layer if the person you’re removing is an active-duty servicemember. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires a court order before any eviction of a servicemember or their dependents, regardless of California’s normal procedures. If the servicemember can’t appear in court, the judge must appoint someone to represent them and can delay the case by up to 90 days.14U.S. Department of Justice. Financial and Housing Rights Skipping those federal requirements carries serious consequences even if you followed every California step correctly.