Evicted for having overnight guest

[Robert2018]

Jurisdiction

California

I was recently evicted from a room I was renting for having an unauthorized guest overnight. I did not have a written lease agreement and my landlady told me prior to moving in that I could have guests over occasionally but this time I was denied permission and had a guest overnight anyway, mainly due to extenuating circumstances (bad weather and car trouble, which I explained to her wen I requested that the guest stay over). The guest stayed over on a Wednesday night and my landlady told me on Thursday I had to move on Friday by noon and that I had to forfeit the rent for the remaining 3 weeks of the month ($700) as well as my last month's rent ($825). There lease was month to month and there was no written lease agreement. If anybody knows if and how I can get my money back I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[army judge]

The guest stayed over on a Wednesday night and my landlady told me on Thursday I had to move on Friday by noon and that I had to forfeit the rent for the remaining 3 weeks of the month ($700) as well as my last month's rent ($825). There lease was month to month and there was no written lease agreement. If anybody knows if and how I can get my money back I would greatly appreciate it.

You had/have rights without a lease.

You were/are what the law terms a month to month tenant.

Your lease was a month to month tenancy.

Here is the legal explanation:

Whether you rent for a month or for a decade in California, state law regulates the rental agreement. While leases for 12 months or more must be in writing, month-to-month tenancies can be oral without affecting the landlord or tenant's rights. If a landlord asks a tenant to leave and the tenant refuses, the landlord can file an action in municipal court to evict the tenant. In jurisdictions with rent control ordinances, tenants have more protection from eviction.

Month-to-Month Tenancy
When you rent a housing unit in California, you enter into either a lease contract or a periodic rental agreement with the landlord. If you contract to stay in the premises for a set period of time, like one year, your rental agreement is a lease. If you agree to rent the premises for the indefinite future and pay rent at regular intervals, it is a periodic rental agreement. The most common type of periodic rental agreement in California is a month-to-month tenancy, where the tenant pays rent once a month.

Characteristics of Month-to-Month Tenancy
A month-to-month tenancy can be viewed as a tenancy that lasts for one month but is renewed for another month by a rent payment. This type of rental agreement does not state how long the tenancy will continue. Generally, the tenant has the right to live in the unit as long as she pays rent every month unless the landlord tells her to leave. Under state law, a landlord can change the terms of the rental agreement, including raising the rent, by giving 30 days notice to the tenant. A month-to-month rental agreement can be oral or in writing. If the agreement is oral, the landlord must provide the tenant with written contact information for the landlord as well as for the person who is to accept the rent.

Terminating the Tenancy
Eviction is the process a landlord uses to get a tenant out of a rental unit. A California landlord can ask a month-to-month tenant to leave the dwelling at any point and for any reason other than illegal motivations, such as discrimination. He is not obligated to give his tenant any explanation, but he must give written notice at least 30 days before the move-out deadline. This period of time doubles if the tenant has lived in the unit for more than a year. The landlord can oust the tenant with even less notice if she fails to pay rent or violates the rental contract. In that case, he must advise the tenant in the notice of the contract breach and, if curable, allow her to cure it.

Eviction
If the tenant does not move out after receiving notice, the landlord files an unlawful detainer action in municipal court for permission to evict the tenant. The tenant can dispute the action by presenting any defenses to the eviction. If the tenant fails to appear in the action or the court decides in favor of the landlord, the court issues an order for the sheriff to evict the tenant from the rental unit. A landlord does not have the right to lock out a tenant or remove her possessions from the rental unit without going through a court action.

Month-to-Month Rental Agreements & Evictions in California

If you left VOLUNTARILY upon her request, you weren't evicted.

She'll say you left on your own accord.

You can sue her in small claims court.

You''ll have to prove she violated your rights.

You might start by discussing this issue with a local lawyer or two.

Most lawyers won't charge for the initial consultation.

You can also search for tenants right's groups or legal aid organizations.

Good luck.

 

[zddoodah]

Your former landlord had no legal ability to evict you based on one day's verbal notice, but it sounds like you acquiesced and moved out voluntarily. You're free to sue in small claims court for whatever amounts you paid that you believe should be returned. Did you really not know that?

 

[mightymoose]

Agreed. You were not evicted.
If you sue in small claims you can probably get a judgement to recover at least a portion of the prepaid rent, however getting the landlord to actually pay that money to you can be another trick.