3-day notice to Housemate from Master Tenant

[2and2]

The owner of the house is a friend of ours who lives out of the country. We are for the most part caring for his house for him with a verbal agreement. Part of the agreement is that we can have housemates. The house has always been a housemate situation.

We are a family of 4 taking up 2 rooms in a 5-bedroom. The 3 upstairs bedrooms are occupied by housemates. All three housemates have signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating they live month-to-month. Each room pays a different amount of a share of the rent due to size(including utl. etc.)

We gave one housemate 30 days notice after he called a house meeting and stated that he was going to move-out as soon as possible because he hates living with children and feels he is not getting his money's worth. This was after an e-mail from him asking us to reduce his share of the rent because he felt he was not getting full use of the house.
We replied he can use the house as much as the rest of us do as it is a shared house. The other two housemates expressed that they do not feel the same way at the meeting.

He called the meeting on August, 30th. We waited to give him notice until he paid rent. The latest you can pay rent is the 5th. On the 5th we sent him an e-mail stating we were sorry it hasn't worked out and he has 30 days notice to vacate and also rent is now late. He acknowledged the 30 day notice but did not mention rent in a nasty reply.
On September 11th he had still not paid rent. We asked him in person about rent and he asked why we 30 day noticed him. We tried to explain that at the meeting he called, he told us and the other housemates he hated living here and was going to leave. But, due to anger management issues he walked away from the conversation.
On that day (Sept. 11)we gave him written 3-day pay or quit notice. He received the notice in a designated mail slot witnessed by an other housemate and myself. Took it to his room and returned no more than a minute later and threw the notice on the dining room table.
From what I know his 3 days begin the 12th and ends the 14th. I pray that he pays his share because we can't afford to cover him. But, if he doesn't what can we do to either secure payment or get him out?

 

[army judge]

Your only legal option is to bring an eviction proceeding against him.

You can only ask him to leave.

He can choose to ignore you.

If he doesn't voluntarily leave, you'll have to take him to court to be evicted.

Only a judge can order his eviction.

You can't legally make him leave.

Only a judge can order a deputy to evict him and remove his crap.

While the court action is pending, he probably won't pay you. He doesn't have to pay you. Yeah, he'll owe you eventually. Most of them never pay. They don't care. Subletting is very risky. Many people that sublet have very bad rental history's.

From the time you file an eviction, to the day of judgment (assuming you prevail), can take anywhere from six to eight weeks. Don't let the weather get cold and snowy. If that happens, you have to sometimes wait for the spring thaw!!!! No kidding!!!!

Then he may be given another 48 to 72 hours, before a law enforcement officer can actually evict him.

The problem for you will be, you aren't the owner of the property. If he wises up, and they usually do, it may take the owner's presence to bring this action.

You might be able to bring the eviction as the owner's agent or manager. That will require proof that the owner gave you that authority. This happens if your "tenant" balks. It appears that is what he's planning on doing.

The money may be another problem. Most eviction proceedings desire the removal of a person and back rent. Most often the eviction is achieved, but the rent goes unpaid.

You get a judgment saying he owes you money, but you have to collect that yourself. The court will get him removed, but won't assist you in collecting the judgment. The back rent usually goes unpaid.

Prepare for this person to attack your tenancy. You have no written lease. You have no proof that you are anything more than a squatter. If thus goes to court, you may bring yourself more trouble than you go this angry guy.

All of you are covered by state statute. The law permits no oral agreements, insofar, as property is concerned. You are all month to month tenants, at best. At worst, all of you could eventually be considered squatters or trespassers. Be very, very careful where you tread. This might get ugly.



http://www.caltenantlaw.com/


http://www.expressevictions.com/eviction-law-in-california.php

(Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit)

Overview of the eviction process

If the tenant doesn't voluntarily move out after the landlord has properly given the required notice to the tenant, the landlord can evict the tenant. In order to evict the tenant, the landlord must file an unlawful detainer lawsuit in superior court.

In an eviction lawsuit, the landlord is called the "plaintiff" and the tenant is called the "defendant."

Recent laws designed to abate drug dealing 295 and unlawful use, manufacture, or possession of weapons and ammunition,296 permit a city attorney or prosecutor in selected jurisdictions 297 to file an unlawful detainer action against a tenant based on an arrest report (or other action or report by law enforcement or regulatory agencies) if the landlord fails to evict the tenant after 30 days notice from the city. The tenant must be notified of the nature of the action and possible defenses.

An unlawful detainer lawsuit is a "summary" court procedure. This means that the court action moves forward very quickly, and that the time given the tenant to respond during the lawsuit is very short. For example, in most cases, the tenant has only five days to file a written response to the lawsuit after being served with a copy of the landlord's summons and complaint.298 Normally, a judge will hear and decide the case within 20 days after the tenant or the landlord files a request to set the case for trial.299

The court-administered eviction process assures the tenant of the right to a court hearing if the tenant believes that the landlord has no right to evict the tenant. The landlord must use this court process to evict the tenant; the landlord cannot use self-help measures to force the tenant to move. For example, the landlord cannot physically remove or lock out the tenant, cut off utilities such as water or electricity, remove outside windows or doors, or seize (take) the tenant's belongings in order to carry out the eviction. The landlord must use the court procedures.

If the landlord uses unlawful methods to evict a tenant, the landlord may be subject to liability for the tenant's damages, as well as penalties of up to $100 per day for the time that the landlord used the unlawful methods.300

In an unlawful detainer lawsuit, the court holds a hearing at which the parties can present their evidence and explain their case. If the court finds that the tenant has a good defense, the court will not evict the tenant. If the court decides in favor of the tenant, the tenant will not have to move, and the landlord may be ordered to pay court costs (for example, the tenant's filing fees). The landlord also may have to pay the tenant's attorney's fees, if the rental agreement contains an attorney's fee clause and if the tenant was represented by an attorney.301

If the court decides in favor of the landlord, the court will issue a writ of possession.302 The writ of possession orders the sheriff to remove the tenant from the rental unit, but gives the tenant five days from the date that the writ is served to leave voluntarily. If the tenant does not leave by the end of the fifth day, the writ of possession authorizes the sheriff to physically remove and lock the tenant out, and seize (take) the tenant's belongings that have been left in the rental unit. The landlord is not entitled to possession of the rental unit until after the sheriff has removed the tenant.

The court also may award the landlord any unpaid rent if the eviction is based on the tenant's failure to pay rent. The court also may award the landlord damages, court costs, and attorney's fees (if the rental agreement or lease contains an attorney's fee clause and if the landlord was represented by an attorney). If the court finds that the tenant acted maliciously in not giving up the rental unit, the court also may award the landlord up to $600 as a penalty.303 The judgment against the tenant will be reported on the tenant's credit report for seven years.304

How to respond to an unlawful detainer lawsuit

If you are served with an unlawful detainer complaint, you should get legal advice or assistance immediately. Tenant organizations, tenant-landlord programs, housing clinics, legal aid organizations, or private attorneys can provide you with advice, and assistance if you need it. (See "Getting Help From a Third Party ")

You usually have only five days to respond in writing to the landlord's complaint. You must respond during this time by filing the correct legal document with the Clerk of Court in which the lawsuit was filed. If the fifth day falls on a weekend or holiday, you can file your written response on the following Monday or nonholiday.305 Typically, a tenant responds to a landlord's complaint by filing a written "answer." (You can get a copy of a form to use for filing an answer from the Clerk of Court's office or online at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/forms.cgi (Form 982.1(95).)

You may have a legal defense to the landlord's complaint. If so, you must state the defense in a written answer and file your written answer with the Clerk of Court by the end of the fifth day. Otherwise, you will lose any defenses that you may have. Some typical defenses that a tenant might have are listed here as examples:

* The landlord's three-day notice requested more rent than was actually due.
* The rental unit violated the implied warranty of habitability.
* The landlord filed the eviction action in retaliation for the tenant exercising a tenant right or because the tenant complained to the building inspector about the condition of the rental unit.

Depending on the facts of your case, there are other legal responses to the landlord's complaint that you might file instead of an answer. For example, if you believe that your landlord did not properly serve the summons and the complaint, you might file a Motion to Quash Service of Summons. If you believe that the complaint has some technical defect or does not properly allege the landlord's right to evict you, you might file a Demurrer. It is important that you obtain advice from a lawyer before you attempt to use these procedures.

If you don't file a written response to the landlord's complaint by the end of the fifth day, the court will enter a default judgment in favor of the landlord. A default judgment allows the landlord to obtain a writ of possession (see Writ of Possession), and may also award the landlord unpaid rent, damages and court costs.

The Clerk of Court will ask you to pay a filing fee when you file your written response. The filing fee typically is about $180. However, if you can't afford to pay the filing fee, you can request that the Clerk allow you to file your response without paying the fee (that is, you can request a waiver of the fee). An application form for a fee waiver, called an "Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs,"can be obtained from the Clerk of Court or online at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/forms.cgi (Form 982a(17)).306

After you have filed your written answer to the landlord's complaint, the Clerk of Court will mail to both you and the landlord a notice of the time and place of the trial. If you don't appear in court, a default judgment will be entered against you.


http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/evictions.shtml