How to File a Claim of Right to Possession in California

If your landlord got an eviction judgment against someone else in your unit and never named you, you can file a claim of right to possession in California by handing form CP10 to the sheriff before the eviction is carried out, then delivering 15 days’ rent to the court within two court days. That pauses the eviction and gets you a hearing under Code of Civil Procedure 1174.3.¹ The window is short. Once the levying officer returns to physically remove occupants, the option is gone.

Whether You Qualify

Three conditions have to be true, and all of them come from the same statute.

You were not named as a defendant in the unlawful detainer case. This process exists for occupants the landlord left out; if you were listed, you already had your chance to respond.

You were not served with a prejudgment claim of right to possession (form CP10.5) at the start of the case. Proper prejudgment service counts as notice and cuts off the post-judgment route.¹

You were living in the unit on the date the landlord filed the unlawful detainer lawsuit. Moving in after that date disqualifies you, and courts take the residency-date requirement seriously. If the landlord can show you arrived after filing, the claim fails no matter how strong your other evidence is.¹

The Window to Act

You can file starting when the sheriff serves or posts the writ of possession on the property, and up until the levying officer returns to enforce it. After the writ is served or posted, occupants get five days before the sheriff comes back to carry out the eviction under CCP 715.020.² That five-day period is effectively your deadline.

If you get a completed claim form to the levying officer in time, the officer must stop the eviction on the spot, give you a receipt, and deliver the claim to the court.¹ Once the sheriff has actually executed the eviction, no claim can be filed.

Step by Step: What to File and Where

Get the Right Form

The form is the Claim of Right to Possession and Notice of Hearing, form CP10. It is the post-judgment version, and it is typically posted on the property by the sheriff along with the notice to vacate.³

Do not use form CP10.5. That one is the prejudgment version, served by the landlord at the start of the case, not filed by occupants at the end.⁴ The claim is signed under penalty of perjury, so what you put on it has to be truthful and accurate.⁵

Present It to the Levying Officer

You present the completed form in person, with identification, to the levying officer (the sheriff or marshal enforcing the writ). The officer stops the eviction, gives you a receipt, and forwards the claim to the court.¹

Pay 15 Days’ Rent to the Court Within Two Court Days

This is where most claims die. Within two court days of presenting your form to the levying officer, you must deliver to the court an amount equal to 15 days’ rent. Miss that deposit without filing a fee waiver, and the claim is automatically denied and the eviction proceeds.¹

You get the deposit back if the court finds your claim valid. If the claim is denied, you still get the deposit back, but the court subtracts a pro rata amount for each day the eviction was delayed, and that portion goes to the landlord.¹

If you cannot afford the deposit, file a Request to Waive Court Fees (form FW-001) with your claim. The waiver, if granted, covers both the filing fee and the rent deposit for people who qualify based on income or receipt of public benefits.⁶

What to Bring as Proof You Lived There

Your case turns on showing you actually occupied the unit on the date the lawsuit was filed. Gather anything with your name and the address on it from before that date:

Utility bills or utility account statements in your name
Rent receipts, canceled checks, or payment app records showing rent paid
A written sublease or roommate agreement
Mail delivered to you at the address
A signed statement from someone who can confirm the arrangement, especially if your agreement with the named tenant was verbal

Bring originals and copies to the hearing.

The Hearing

After the claim is filed and the deposit or fee waiver is in, the court sets a hearing no fewer than 5 and no more than 15 days out.¹ The eviction stays paused until then.

Both sides present evidence. The judge is answering one question: do you have a legitimate right to possess the property? A signed sublease or a record of rent paid directly to the landlord carries weight. Utility accounts opened before the lawsuit, official mail, and witnesses to consistent occupancy all help. Judges see plenty of attempts to stall lawful evictions, so claims backed only by verbal assertions have a hard time. If no bill, lease, or official record ties your name to the address, expect the hearing to go badly.

Outcomes

If the judge finds your claim valid, you get added as a defendant in the unlawful detainer case. The landlord then has to pursue the eviction against you specifically, which resets the timeline. Your full 15 days’ rent deposit comes back.¹

If the claim is denied, the court orders the levying officer to enforce the writ, amended to include you, within a reasonable time not exceeding five days. Your deposit is returned minus the daily pro rata deduction covering the delay.¹

Skipping the hearing has the same effect as an invalid claim. The court orders enforcement to proceed.¹

Filing a False Claim

The claim is signed under penalty of perjury, and filing one you know is false carries risks beyond losing the hearing. Under CCP 128.7, court filings submitted primarily to harass, delay, or make factual claims without evidentiary support can draw sanctions, including penalties paid to the court and orders to pay the landlord’s attorney’s fees and litigation costs.⁷

Staying on after the court has ordered you removed can also lead to misdemeanor trespass charges under Penal Code 602 for refusing to leave when asked by the owner or a peace officer acting on the owner’s behalf.⁸

When This Process Does Not Apply

If your landlord served you with a prejudgment claim of right to possession (CP10.5) along with the summons at the start of the case, you cannot file a post-judgment claim now. That earlier service counts as your notice under the statute.¹

If you are living in a property that was foreclosed and a new owner is trying to remove you, separate federal protections apply. Under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, a successor owner who acquires a residential property through foreclosure must give bona fide tenants at least 90 days’ notice before requiring them to vacate, and a lease predating the foreclosure notice may let you stay through the lease term unless the new owner intends to move in.⁹¹⁰ Those protections are raised as a defense in the eviction case itself, not through form CP10.

One more thing worth knowing before you file: the unlawful detainer record can follow you. Tenant screening companies routinely report civil court filings, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act generally allows negative information to be reported for up to seven years.¹¹¹² A dismissal or a claim resolved in your favor looks very different on that record than a judgment for possession, which is another reason to bring documentation and show up to the hearing.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1174.3
2
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 715.020
3
California Courts. Claim of Right to Possession and Notice of Hearing (CP10)
4
California Courts. Prejudgment Claim of Right to Possession (CP10.5)
5
California Courts. California Court Form CP10.5 – Prejudgment Claim of Right to Possession
6
California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001)
7
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 128.7
8
California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 602 – Trespass
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 5220 – Assistance to Homeowners
10
California Courts. Tenants Rights in a Foreclosure
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
12
Federal Trade Commission. Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights