Is the Tenant in Your New Property Refusing to Move Out?
If you have purchased a property, you’re probably already planning for its future use. Maybe your intention is to live there yourself. Or maybe you want to renovate the property and rent it out to tenants.
Whatever your plans for your new real estate property, they may come to a grinding halt when you discover that the previous owner of the property is still living there — and they refuse to move out. If this happens, it’s time to initiate an owner-sale eviction with our attorneys.
Understanding Landlord-Sale
Compared to more well-known types of evictions, like those for lease violations or for failure to pay rent, owner-sale evictions are fairly uncommon. In an owner-sale eviction, you have to evict the seller of the property because they refuse to leave after the sale.
For the sake of clarity, “owner-sale eviction” does not refer to evicting a tenant so you can sell your property. California Civil Code does not allow a landlord to evict a tenant for the sole purpose of selling a property. In most cases, if a landlord sells a property where tenants currently reside, the new owner must honor the existing lease.
CONTACT USLegal Requirements for Landlords
Evicting the property’s previous owner is not the same as evicting a tenant. The previous owner does not have a lease, so they don’t have the same protections as someone legally renting the property.
If you have purchased a property and the previous owner refuses to leave, it’s worth it to talk to the owner first. Unfortunately, many owners who stay in the home after a sale are doing so intentionally. If the owner doesn’t leave, you should take the following steps:
- Serve a 3-day notice to quit
- If the former owner stays, file an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit
Some homeowners attempt to take these steps by themselves. However, unless you have extensive experience handling evictions, it’s a good idea to work with an experienced landlord-tenant attorney.
The eviction process is convoluted and expensive, and if you make even a seemingly minor mistake in the process, you may have to start over. If you’re eager to move into your new property or to start renting it, delays can make an already frustrating situation even more of a hassle.
Differences Between Owner-Sale and Other Forms of Eviction
Owner-sale evictions are one of the least common types of evictions in Los Angeles. They are different from most evictions for a number of reasons:
- You’re dealing with a former property owner, not a tenant
- You don’t have a pre-existing landlord-tenant relationship
- There is no lease involved
- In many cases, a previous owner is staying in the house after a foreclosure sale
The many layers of complexity involved in owner-sale evictions sometimes make them difficult to navigate. Eviction is often an emotionally charged process for tenants, and it can be even more emotionally challenging for former property owners who have been through foreclosure.
Preparing for an Owner-Sale Eviction
Just as with any other kind of eviction, you should be very careful to follow California law when beginning an owner-sale eviction. If you have contacted the previous owner (or have attempted to) and they are not willing to work with you, your next step should be serving a notice.
However, you cannot serve a notice as soon as you’ve bought the property. You must wait for the title to be “perfected,” meaning that the title has been officially registered in your name. Once the title has been perfected, you can serve the notice.
Serving Proper Notice According to Tenant Law in California
There are many types of eviction-related notices landlords may need to serve their tenants — or in this case, the former property owner. For an owner-sale eviction, you need to serve a 3-day Notice to Quit.
This is a notice that gives the previous owners three days to leave the property (“quit”). If the previous owner ignores the notice and stays, you may begin an eviction lawsuit.
It’s important to note that unlike a 3-day Notice to Cure or Quit (a notice that gives the tenant the option to fix an issue or move), a 3-day Notice to Quit requires you to count all days (including weekends and court holidays) in the three days.
However, if the third day falls on a weekend or a court holiday, the deadline to leave is the next business day. You start counting the day after the notice is served.
For example, if you serve a 3-day Notice to Quit on Thursday, day three falls on a Sunday. That means the previous owner’s deadline to move is Monday and the first day that a lawsuit can be filed would be Tuesday (assuming neither day is a judicial holiday).
Ensuring the Notice Is Served the Right Way
California has very specific legal requirements for serving a 3-day Notice to Quit. Paying attention to every legal requirement is critical. If you ultimately have to file an eviction lawsuit, the tenant has the right to fight it by pointing out that you served the three-day notice incorrectly.
Specific localities may have additional requirements, but in general, California gives you three options for delivering a notice:
- Personal Service: You hand the notice to the former owner (or have another adult do so)
- Substituted Service: You hand the notice to another adult in the home after attempting personal service on the former owner
- Posting the Notice: You put the notice on the home (usually by taping it to the door)
If you hand the notice to another adult in the home or post it, you must also mail a copy to the tenant. The countdown to the three-day deadline doesn’t start until the day after you mail the notice.
Legal Proceedings From an Eviction Attorney
Once you have delivered the 3-day Notice to Quit, you should formally document the service. You will need proof of service if you have to file for eviction. To document service, you (or the person who served the notice) should write down the following:
- The name of the notice
- The date the notice was handed to the tenant, handed to another adult, or posted
- The date the notice was mailed
- A statement that you assert, under penalty of perjury, that the information is correct
You should keep the dated and signed paper. If the deadline passes and the property’s previous owner still hasn’t left, you should include this paper with your eviction paperwork.
Filing for an Eviction
Before you start the eviction process, double-check that the deadline on the 3-day Notice to Quit has passed. To file, you will need a few court forms and several pieces of evidence:
- Unlawful Detainer Summons
- Unlawful Detainer Complaint
- Plaintiff’s Mandatory Cover Sheet
- Civil Case Cover Sheet
- Proof that you bought the home
- Records of any communication with the previous owner
- A copy of the notice you served the previous owner
- Proof that you served the notice
Depending on the city and/or county where you’re located, you may need to file additional forms. Your attorney can help ensure you include everything you need.
When you file for eviction, you must pay a fee. The fee is usually between $240 and $450. If you make a mistake and have to file again, you’ll typically have to re-pay the fee. Working with an attorney can help you avoid costly mistakes, and it may expedite the process as well.
Serving the Summons and Complaint
The next step in the process is to serve the Complaint (the document telling the person why they’re being sued) and Summons (the document telling them the action they need to take) to the previous owner.
The property’s previous owner then has 10 court days to respond – they may get additional time depending on the manner of service. If they file an Answer in response to the eviction suit, that means they intend to go to court and contest it — or at least explain their version of events.
Set a Court Date or Ask for a Default Judgment with Tenants and Courts
If the previous owner responds, you should ask the court to schedule a trial date. If your case goes to trial, you will need to present evidence to your defense to prove the previous owner should be evicted.
If the previous owner does not respond by the deadline, you should ask for a default judgment. This is where the court says you win the case by default.
If the court rules in your favor and enters a judgment against the previous owner, there is one more step. You must file for a Writ of Possession of Real Property. Once the sheriff receives this form, they are authorized to remove the previous owner. If the previous owner insists on staying in the home, the sheriff may need to forcefully remove them.
How CA Property Law Group Attorneys Can Assist
Between serving notices, filing paperwork, waiting for the previous owner to respond to a lawsuit, and possibly going to court, owner-sale evictions can quickly become unmanageable.
At California Property Law Group, our lawyers have extensive experience with landlord tenant law and focus much of our legal practice on evictions. Owner-sale evictions are uniquely challenging in real estate and eviction law, and we’re prepared to help you take back control of your property and protect your rights. Get in touch to book a consultation with a lawyer today.
