UD-105 Unlawful Detainer Answer: Filing, Defenses, and Service

Form UD-105 is the official answer a California tenant files to respond to an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit, and these UD-105 form instructions walk you through completing it correctly. Filing the form on time preserves your right to a trial and stops the landlord from winning by default. You have 10 court days from the date you were personally served to get it filed.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1167

How Long You Have to File

The clock starts the moment you’re served, and Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays don’t count toward the 10 days. Roughly two calendar weeks, but count the actual court days rather than trusting that estimate.

The exact deadline depends on how the papers reached you:

  • Personal service (handed directly to you): 10 court days from the date of service.
  • Substituted service or service by posting: 20 days total. The first 10 are regular calendar days, after which you’re considered served; you then get 10 court days to file.
  • Service through the Safe at Home program: 15 court days.

Miss the deadline by a single day and the landlord can file for a default judgment on the next court day.2California Courts. Ask for a Default Judgment There is no grace period. Put the date on a calendar the same day you receive the papers.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull out the Summons and Complaint the landlord filed. You’ll copy three things directly from those documents onto your answer: the case number, the plaintiff’s (landlord’s) full name, and the courthouse where the case was filed. A misspelled name or a wrong case number can get your filing rejected at the counter.

Download the current form from the California Judicial Council’s website rather than using a PDF you find elsewhere.3California Courts. Answer—Unlawful Detainer (UD-105) Older versions may be missing updated checkboxes. Read the entire Complaint carefully and note which numbered paragraphs you agree with, disagree with, or aren’t sure about. That sorting is exactly what the form asks you to do.

Filling Out the Form

Header and Item 1

The top of the form asks for your name, mailing address, and the court’s name and address. Copy the court information exactly as it appears on the Summons. Item 1 lists every defendant filing the answer. If multiple tenants are named in the lawsuit, one UD-105 can cover all of them, but every person listed must sign it unless an attorney signs on their behalf.4Judicial Council of California. Answer—Unlawful Detainer (UD-105)

Item 2: Responding to the Allegations

This is where you go through the landlord’s claims one by one. The form gives you two paths depending on the dollar amount at stake:

  • General denial (claims of $1,000 or less): one checkbox denies everything in the Complaint at once. Only available when the total amount in dispute is $1,000 or less.
  • Specific denials (claims over $1,000): most eviction cases fall here. List which numbered paragraphs from the Complaint are false and which ones you don’t have enough information to confirm. Both count as denials.

Anything you don’t deny is treated as admitted, which means the landlord won’t need to prove it at trial. When in doubt, deny. If a paragraph is partly true, deny it and use an attachment to explain which portion you’re contesting.5California Courts | Self Help Guide. Fill Out an Answer Form in an Eviction Case

Item 3: Defenses and Objections

Item 3 is the heart of the form. It lists common legal defenses as checkboxes, and checking the right ones tells the court why the eviction should fail. Some boxes apply only to nonpayment-of-rent cases; others apply to any eviction. Check every defense that honestly fits your situation. You’re not locked into arguing all of them at trial, but you lose the right to raise a defense you didn’t list here.

If you need more room to explain a defense, attach additional pages using form MC-025 and label each attachment to match the item number (for example, “Attachment 3t”).6California Courts | Self Help Guide. Defenses You Can Use in an Eviction Case Include specific dates, names, and events. “The apartment had mold” is weaker than “on March 12, 2026, I reported black mold in the bathroom to the property manager by email, and no repairs were made.”

Rent Amount, Attorney Fees, and Signature

The form also lets you challenge the dollar amount the landlord claims you owe. Flag partial payments, double-counted periods, or calculation errors. You can request that the landlord pay your attorney fees if your lease contains a fee-shifting provision; California law allows fee-shifting to run in either direction when a lease mentions it.

The final step is signing under penalty of perjury. Your signature confirms that everything in the form is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. Review every line before you sign.

Defenses on the Form Worth Knowing About

Several defenses on the UD-105 come up regularly:

  • Uninhabitable conditions (nonpayment cases only): broken plumbing, no heat, pest infestations, and similar failures can support a breach-of-warranty-of-habitability defense.
  • Repair-and-deduct: if you made necessary repairs yourself and properly deducted the cost from rent, that deduction is not unpaid rent.
  • Retaliation: California law prohibits evicting tenants for complaining about unsafe conditions, contacting a housing agency, or otherwise exercising their legal rights. If the eviction came within 180 days of a protected action, a presumption of retaliation applies.7California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1942.5
  • Discrimination: targeting you based on race, gender, disability, family status, or another protected characteristic violates federal and state fair housing law.
  • Defective notice: the landlord’s notice to quit must follow strict rules on timing, content, and delivery. Wrong number of days, missing required language, or improper service can defeat the eviction at the starting line.
  • Tenant Protection Act violations: if you’ve lived in the unit at least 12 months and the property isn’t exempt, the landlord needs “just cause” to evict and must follow specific notice and relocation-assistance rules. The form has checkboxes for failure to state a just cause, failure to give you a chance to fix a lease violation, and failure to provide relocation assistance.8State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Landlord-Tenant Issues
  • Local rent control violations: if your city or county has a rent or eviction control ordinance, a violation of that ordinance is its own defense.

Filing With the Court

Bring the original UD-105 and at least two copies to the clerk’s office at the courthouse listed on your Summons.5California Courts | Self Help Guide. Fill Out an Answer Form in an Eviction Case The clerk keeps the original, stamps your copies as filed, and hands them back. You’ll need the stamped copies for the next step.

Filing fees depend on the amount the landlord is claiming:

  • $10,000 or less: $225
  • Over $10,000 up to $35,000: $370
  • Over $35,000: $435

Fees run slightly higher in Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco counties because of local courthouse construction surcharges.9Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026 If you can’t afford the fee, file form FW-001 (Request to Waive Court Fees) at the same time. You qualify if you receive certain public benefits, your income is below a set threshold, or paying the fee would prevent you from covering basic necessities.10California Courts | Self Help Guide. Request to Waive Court Fees

Serving the Landlord

Filing with the court isn’t enough. You must also deliver a copy of your answer to the landlord or their attorney, and you cannot do it yourself. Someone at least 18 years old who is not named in the lawsuit has to handle delivery, either by mail or in person.5California Courts | Self Help Guide. Fill Out an Answer Form in an Eviction Case A friend, a relative, or a professional process server all work. After delivering the papers, that person completes a Proof of Service form (POS-030), which you then file with the court. Until the Proof of Service is on file, the court has no record that the landlord was notified of your response.

What Happens if You Don’t File

Miss the deadline and the landlord can ask the court for a default judgment the very next court day. Once a default is entered, you lose the right to file an answer or fight the eviction at trial.2California Courts. Ask for a Default Judgment The landlord submits a handful of forms, the judge reviews them, and if everything checks out, the court issues a judgment granting possession of the property and a money judgment for any unpaid rent claimed in the Complaint.

The court then issues a Writ of Execution, which authorizes the sheriff to lock you out and, if applicable, to collect the money owed through wage garnishment or bank levies.2California Courts. Ask for a Default Judgment The whole sequence from missed deadline to lockout can happen in a matter of weeks. Filing the UD-105 on time is the single most important step in defending an eviction.

Getting a Trial Date After You File

Filing your answer does not automatically schedule a trial. Either side must file form UD-150 (Request to Set Case for Trial) to get a date on the calendar.11California Courts | Self Help Guide. Request/Counter-Request to Set Case for Trial—Unlawful Detainer Once that request is filed, the trial must be held within 20 days.12California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1170.5 Eviction cases move fast by design.

By default, unlawful detainer trials are decided by a judge. You have the right to request a jury trial instead, but you must announce your demand when the case is first set for trial and pay a nonrefundable $150 jury fee at least five days before the trial date.13California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 631 Miss either step and the court treats it as a waiver, though judges have discretion to allow a late request.