To evict an adult child from your home in California, you have to treat them as a legal occupant, whether or not they ever paid rent or signed anything. That means serving a written notice to move out and, if they ignore it, either calling law enforcement (when your child qualifies as a lodger) or filing an eviction lawsuit called an unlawful detainer. Which path you take turns on a single question you need to answer before doing anything else: is your child a lodger or a tenant?
Is Your Adult Child a Lodger or a Tenant
A lodger is someone who rents a room inside a home where the owner also lives and keeps the right to enter all areas of the dwelling.1California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946.5 – Hiring of a Room by a Lodger For most parents whose adult child lives under their roof, sharing the kitchen, bathroom, and common areas, this is the correct classification. The lodger rule only applies when there is a single lodger in the home. Two or more people renting rooms from you, and everyone becomes a tenant.
Your child is more likely a tenant if they occupy a space with real independence: a converted garage with its own entrance, a detached guest house, or an accessory dwelling unit with its own kitchen and bathroom. Contributions like paying part of the utilities or buying groceries do not, on their own, change the classification. What matters is the physical setup and whether you retain access to their space.
The reason this matters so much: a single lodger who refuses to leave after proper notice can be removed by police as a misdemeanor trespasser. A tenant can only be removed through an unlawful detainer lawsuit, which takes weeks and costs several hundred dollars minimum.
What You Cannot Do
Before serving any notice, understand what California prohibits. You cannot shut off your child’s water, electricity, or gas to pressure them into leaving. You cannot change the locks, remove exterior doors or windows, or move their belongings out. These “self-help” evictions carry real penalties: a court can award your child at least $250 per violation, plus $100 for each day the violation continues, plus actual damages and attorney’s fees.2California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 789.3
The impulse to just box up their things and set them on the porch is where many parents get themselves sued by the very person they were trying to remove. Follow the legal process from the start.
Serving the Written Notice
Every California eviction begins with written notice. The length and type depend on your child’s status.
Which Notice, and How Long
If your child is a tenant with no lease (a tenancy at will or month-to-month), serve a 30-day notice to quit when they have lived in the home for less than one year. If they have lived there one year or more, the notice must be 60 days.3California Courts. Types of Eviction Notices
If your child is a lodger, the notice must be at least as long as the payment period. Monthly payments mean 30 days; weekly payments mean seven. For a lodger who pays nothing, the notice must still give at least seven days.4California Courts. If You Rent a Room Out (Lodgers)
A 3-day notice is available in narrower situations, such as unpaid agreed-upon rent, violation of a written agreement, or illegal activity on the premises.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1161 For most parents dealing with an adult child who simply will not move out, the 30-day or 60-day notice is the standard starting point.
Getting the Notice Into Their Hands
The notice must include your child’s full name, the property address, a clear statement that you are ending the tenancy, and the date by which they must move out. Delivery follows Code of Civil Procedure section 1162:6California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1162 hand it to your child directly; leave it with another adult at the residence and mail a second copy if your child is not home; or, if no one suitable is at the property, post it conspicuously and mail a copy. A lodger’s notice can also be served by certified or registered mail with a return receipt requested.1California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946.5 – Hiring of a Room by a Lodger
Document everything. Keep a copy of the notice, write down the date and time of service, and if someone else delivered it, have them do the same. Sloppy service is the easiest way to have an eviction thrown out.
Removing a Single Lodger After the Notice Expires
This is where the lodger path breaks cleanly from the tenant path. Once your notice period expires and a single lodger still refuses to leave, their right to remain terminates by operation of law. At that point they are committing an infraction under Penal Code section 602.3, and law enforcement can remove them without a lawsuit.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 602.3
In practice, you call the police and show them the written notice, proof of service, and evidence that the notice period has expired. The responding officer has authority to remove the lodger, and the statute states this removal is not a forcible entry and cannot support a civil suit against you.
One caveat worth planning for: some officers are unfamiliar with Penal Code section 602.3 and may say it is a “civil matter.” Bring a printed copy of the statute along with your notice documentation. If the officer still declines, ask for a supervisor. As a last resort, you may need to file an unlawful detainer anyway.
Remember, this shortcut only works when there is a single lodger in an owner-occupied home. If two adults are renting rooms, or your child has exclusive control of a separate living space, you must go through the court process below.
Do You Need “Just Cause” to Evict Your Own Child
California’s Tenant Protection Act generally requires just cause to end a tenancy, but the law exempts situations where the occupant shares a kitchen or bathroom with the owner who lives in the property as their primary residence.8California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2 It also exempts single-family owner-occupied homes where the owner rents no more than two bedrooms or units. If you live in the same house as your adult child and share a kitchen or bathroom, you almost certainly qualify and do not need to state a reason.
Filing an Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit
If your child is a tenant and the notice has expired without them leaving, the next step is filing an unlawful detainer in the superior court for the county where the property sits. This is the only lawful way to force a tenant out.
The Forms and the Filing Fee
California requires four forms to start the case: the Complaint (UD-100), the Summons (SUM-130), a Civil Case Cover Sheet (CM-010), and the Plaintiff’s Mandatory Cover Sheet and Supplemental Allegations (UD-101).9California Courts. Fill Out Forms to Start an Eviction Case All are on the California Courts website. A wrong date or misspelled name can delay or dismiss the case, so fill them in carefully.
The clerk stamps and files your papers and assigns a case number. The filing fee is $240 when little or no money is at stake, which is the usual situation in a parent-child eviction. It rises to $385 for claims between $10,000 and $35,000, and $435 above $35,000.10Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026 If you cannot afford the fee, file Form FW-001 to request a waiver.11California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees
Serving the Lawsuit
You cannot serve the summons and complaint yourself. California requires a server who is at least 18 and not a party to the case.12California Courts. Serve the Defendant Another adult family member, a friend, or a professional process server can do it. Professional servers typically charge between $95 and $125.
What Happens After You File
Once your child is personally served, they have 10 court days to file a written Answer. Weekends and court holidays do not count. If the papers went through substituted service or posting and mailing rather than being handed to them, the deadline extends to 20 days.13California Courts. Ask for a Default Judgment
If No Answer Is Filed
Miss the deadline and you can ask for a default judgment, meaning you win without a trial. File a Request for Court Judgment (CIV-100) and a Judgment—Unlawful Detainer (UD-110) along with the supporting forms. Don’t wait longer than needed: your child can still file an Answer up until you request the default.
If Your Child Files an Answer
The court schedules a trial. Unlawful detainer cases move faster than regular civil cases, so the trial is usually set within a few weeks. Common defenses include improper notice—arguing the notice was not served correctly or lacked required information. A retaliation defense is less common in a parent-child case but worth knowing about: if your child made a complaint about unsafe conditions (say, reporting code violations to a government agency) within the previous six months, the law presumes an eviction is retaliatory and shifts the burden to you to prove a legitimate reason.
Getting the Sheriff to Lock Them Out
Winning does not mean your child has to leave that day. The court issues a Judgment for Possession. To enforce it, ask the clerk to issue a Writ of Possession, then bring the writ to the county sheriff and pay the sheriff’s service fee, which generally runs between $150 and $250 depending on the county. A deputy posts a Notice to Vacate at the property, giving your child five days to leave voluntarily.14California Courts. After the Eviction Trial Decision If they are still there after five days, the sheriff returns, removes them, and locks them out.
Only the sheriff can perform this final step. Doing it yourself exposes you to the same self-help penalties described earlier.
What the Process Costs
Costs depend on whether things resolve at the notice stage or run through a full lawsuit.
- Court filing fee: $240 to $435, depending on the amount claimed.10Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
- Process server: $95 to $125 professional, or free if a qualified friend or relative does it.
- Sheriff’s fee for writ execution: roughly $150 to $250, county-dependent.
- Attorney fees: optional. An unlawful detainer attorney may charge $1,000 to $3,000 or more for a contested case, and many parents handle straightforward cases without one using the California Courts self-help resources.
If your child qualifies as a single lodger and the Penal Code section 602.3 process works, you avoid nearly all of these costs. That is why sorting out the lodger question at the very beginning matters so much.