How to Evict a Subtenant in California: Notice, Lawsuit, Lockout

To evict a subtenant in California, a master tenant has to follow the same formal legal process a landlord would use, because California’s Tenant Protection Act treats a sublease as a tenancy and the master tenant as the subtenant’s landlord.¹ That means identifying a legal reason for the eviction, serving the correct written notice, and, if the subtenant stays past the deadline, filing an unlawful detainer lawsuit and letting the sheriff carry out the lockout. Skipping steps or trying to force the subtenant out informally almost always costs more than doing it right.

Does Just Cause Apply to Your Subtenant

The first question is how long the subtenant has been in the unit. Once a subtenant has lived there continuously for 12 months, the Tenant Protection Act generally requires a legally recognized reason, called “just cause,” to end the tenancy.¹ Below that threshold, the master tenant can end the tenancy with a standard 30-day written notice without stating a reason.

A few living arrangements are exempt from just cause entirely. Single-family homes where the owner rents no more than two bedrooms, and housing where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom with the property owner, are outside the Act.² Those exemptions reference the property owner specifically, so a master tenant sharing a kitchen with a subtenant likely does not qualify for the same carve-out. If the arrangement is unusual, check with a tenants’ rights organization or attorney before serving anything.

Choose the Right Reason for the Eviction

Just cause splits into two categories, and the category dictates the notice, the timing, and whether you owe the subtenant money.

At-Fault Grounds

At-fault just cause means the subtenant did something wrong. Nonpayment of rent is the most common. Others include breaching a material lease term, maintaining a nuisance, causing serious damage, criminal activity on the premises, refusing lawful entry for inspections or repairs, and using the property for an illegal purpose.¹

No-Fault Grounds

No-fault just cause allows eviction when the subtenant has done nothing wrong. The most common scenario is the master tenant wanting to move back in, or to move in a spouse, domestic partner, child, grandchild, parent, or grandparent. The notice has to name that person and their relationship. The person then has to actually move in within 90 days of the subtenant leaving and use the unit as their primary residence for at least 12 consecutive months.³ Other no-fault grounds include the master tenant ending their own lease with the property owner, withdrawing the unit from the rental market, or complying with a government order to vacate.

For any no-fault eviction, you owe the subtenant relocation assistance equal to one month’s rent, paid as cash or by waiving the final month’s rent.³ Skipping it hands the subtenant a defense in court.

Prepare and Serve the Correct Notice

This is where most do-it-yourself evictions fall apart. The reason for eviction determines the notice, and the wrong form voids the whole process.

For Nonpayment of Rent

Use a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. It must state the exact amount of past-due rent, the name, phone number, and address of the person who can accept payment, and the days and hours that person is available. If an electronic payment method has already been set up with the subtenant, the notice can reference that instead.⁴ One detail that trips people up: the notice can only demand past-due rent. Late fees, utility charges, and bounced-check fees cannot be included, and adding them invalidates the notice.⁵

For Other Lease Violations

Use a 3-Day Notice to Perform Covenant or Quit. Describe the specific violation and demand it be corrected within three days. If the violation cannot be corrected after the fact, no cure period is required.⁴

On both three-day notices, the countdown excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays. Day one is the first day after the subtenant receives the notice.

For No-Fault Terminations

A subtenant of less than one year gets a 30-day notice. A subtenant of a year or more gets a 60-day notice.⁶ The notice must state the vacate date and the specific no-fault reason for the termination.

Serving It

A notice that never legally reaches the subtenant is worthless. California recognizes three service methods, attempted in order.⁷ Personal service means physically handing the notice to the subtenant; it is the hardest to challenge later. Substituted service means leaving it with a competent adult at the subtenant’s home or work when the subtenant can’t be found, and mailing a second copy to their home by regular mail. Both steps are required. Posting and mailing means posting a copy in a visible spot on the property and mailing another; this is a last resort.

Whoever serves the notice should fill out a proof of service form right away, recording what was delivered, when, and how. That document becomes part of the court file if the eviction moves forward.⁸

File the Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit

If the notice period runs out and the subtenant hasn’t paid, cured, or moved, the next step is an unlawful detainer case in the superior court for the county where the property sits. This is the only legal way to remove someone who refuses to leave.

Two forms open the case. Form SUM-130 is the summons, which notifies the subtenant of the lawsuit and their deadline to respond.⁹ Form UD-100 is the complaint itself, describing the rental arrangement, the property, the grounds for eviction, and attaching the served notice.¹⁰

Filing fees scale with the amount claimed: $240 for claims up to $10,000, $385 for $10,001 to $35,000, and $435 above $35,000. Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco counties add local surcharges.¹¹

After filing, the summons and complaint must be served on the subtenant by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case. The server completes a Proof of Service of Summons (Form POS-010), which is then filed with the court.

What Happens in Court

The path depends on whether the subtenant answers.

No Response

When the papers were handed directly to the subtenant, they have 10 court days (weekends and court holidays excluded) to file a written response.¹² Substituted service or posting-and-mailing stretches that to roughly 20 days, because the law adds 10 calendar days before the court-day count begins.

If the deadline passes without a response, file Form CIV-100 (Request for Entry of Default). The default judgment can cover possession alone, possession plus unpaid rent, or money damages if the subtenant has already moved out. The court will not award more than the amount stated in the complaint, so calculate carefully at filing.¹²

A Contested Case

If the subtenant files an answer on Form UD-105, the case is contested. File Form UD-150 to request a trial date.¹³ Unlawful detainer cases move fast: the trial must be set no later than 20 days after the request.

Courts also build in at least one chance to settle, whether through a voluntary mediation or a court-scheduled settlement conference.¹⁴ Many cases resolve there, often with a negotiated move-out date and a payment plan for back rent.

At trial, the master tenant has to prove every procedural step was followed correctly: proper notice, proper service, valid grounds. The court can award back rent plus up to $600 in statutory damages if the subtenant’s holdover was malicious.¹⁵

The Sheriff Lockout

Winning doesn’t mean the subtenant is out that day. Request a Writ of Execution (Form EJ-130), which authorizes the county sheriff to carry out the physical eviction.¹⁶ File it with the court clerk, then deliver it to the local sheriff’s office. Sheriff’s departments charge a processing fee, typically $100 to $180.

The sheriff posts a Notice to Vacate on the door giving the subtenant five days to leave voluntarily.¹⁷ If they’re still there when the five days expire, the sheriff returns, removes the occupants, and changes the locks.

Belongings Left Behind

If the subtenant leaves property in the unit, you can’t just throw it out. Send a written Notice of Right to Reclaim Abandoned Property. If mailed, the subtenant has 18 days to retrieve it; if delivered in person, 15 days.¹⁸ After the deadline, property believed to be worth less than $700 can be kept, sold, or discarded. Property worth $700 or more has to be sold at public auction, with any proceeds beyond storage and sale costs turned over to the county for the former subtenant to claim within a year.

Don’t Try to Force the Subtenant Out

Changing locks, shutting off utilities, removing doors or windows, or hauling out the subtenant’s belongings are all illegal when used to force someone to leave. A subtenant who is illegally locked out can sue for actual damages (temporary housing, damaged property), statutory damages of up to $100 per day the violation continues with a $250 minimum per incident, and reasonable attorney fees, which the court must award if the subtenant wins.¹⁹ The subtenant can also get an emergency court order restoring access while the case plays out. In practical terms, an illegal lockout almost always costs more than the formal process would have.

1
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946-2
2
City of Berkeley Rent Board. AB 1482 – The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019
3
California Department of Justice. The Tenant Protection Act – Your Obligations as a Landlord or Property Manager
4
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1161
5
California Courts. Types of Eviction Notices Tenants
6
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946-1
7
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1162
8
California Courts. Fill Out Forms to Start an Eviction Case
9
Judicial Council of California. Summons – Eviction (Unlawful Detainer / Forcible Detainer / Forcible Entry)
10
California Courts. Summons-Unlawful Detainer-Eviction (Form SUM-130)
11
Judicial Branch of California. Superior Court of California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule
12
California Courts. Ask for a Default Judgment
13
California Courts. Request/Counter-Request to Set Case for Trial – Unlawful Detainer (UD-150)
14
Judicial Branch of California. Rule 3.2005 – Settlement Opportunities
15
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1174
16
Judicial Council of California. Writ of Execution (EJ-130)
17
California Courts. Ask for More Time to Move
18
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1984
19
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 789-3