How to Evict a Disabled Person in California

By Ireland Wolfe

In California, disabled tenants are considered protected tenants under state law. California landlords can still evict protected tenants for any breaches of the lease. The eviction process works the same way for protected residents as it does for regular tenants for lease violations. Landlords in California are unable to evict protected tenants for condo conversions, if the owner of the property wants to live in the house, or other reasons not attributed to the tenant.

Check to make sure you can evict your disabled tenant. The laws vary slightly by county or city. In some cases, you may be able to evict a disabled tenant if you need to move back to your property if it is a single-family home. In other areas, you may not be able to evict for this reason. If you are evicting for something other than a lease violation, check with the local housing authority. The local housing authority's number will be in the phone book under the government blue pages.

Send a written "notice to quit" to the tenant. In California, you must give the tenant one final chance with sufficient time to correct the problem or lease violation. The letter should warn the tenant that he must do something in a certain amount of time or leave. A common example is to pay rent or leave. The notice must be detailed. If the notice is for non-payment of rent, the notice needs to include the exact amount owed and a specific date that the rent is due.

Provide a 30 day or 60 notice if the tenant did not correct the lease violation. In California, if the protected tenant has lived in the property for less than a year, you can give her as little as 30 days to vacate the property. If she has lived there longer than a year, California law requires you to allow her at least 60 days to leave. Subsidized housing tenants require a 90 day notice. These notices can be downloaded from landlord assistance sites or you can easily create your own. Be sure to include the address of the property, the name of the tenant, your name and your mailing address.

File an eviction notice in civil court if the tenant did not vacate in the amount of time allotted. File a complaint in the Superior Court in your county by handing a completed form to the clerk of the courts. The complaint can be found online at the California Court Self Help website or you can ask the clerk of the court for the form. The clerk will also issue a summons for a court date.

Serve the complaint and summons to your tenant. It is best to hire a firm to serve the papers since the rules in California are very specific but any adult not involved in the legal matter can serve the paperwork. A person over the age of 18 can personally serve the eviction notice to the tenant.

Attend any hearings. The eviction process will vary depending on the response from your tenant but you will have one hearing where you can make your case and the tenant will defend himself. Follow the court's instructions and provide it with any written documentation to help your case. You may want to consult with an attorney to represent you at the hearing although one is not necessary.