How to Legally Get Rid of Squatters in California
- 1). Serve a three-day notice on the squatter. California requires property owners to give squatters the opportunity to resolve the situation peaceably and without the need for or formality of judicial assistance. A complaint for unlawful detainer may not be filed by the landlord against the squatter until the notice has been served and the squatter has not quit the premises in the allotted time. The three-day notice is a brief document informing the squatter that he must leave the premises or court-ordered eviction will be sought.
- 2). Seek court assistance. If the squatter does not leave the property three days from the day he received notice to quit, an unlawful detainer complaint must be filed in the judicial district in which the affected property is located. An unlawful detainer complaint is a document that petitions the court to issue an eviction order. Serve a copy of the unlawful detainer complaint on the squatter. After receiving the complaint, the squatter will have five days to answer the complaint.
- 3). Attend the hearing schedule by the court clerk. After the squatter has been served with the lawsuit and afforded an opportunity to present his side of the story, a hearing date will be scheduled within 20 days. At the hearing a judge will listen to both sides argue their case before issuing a judgement. The hearing usually take no longer than one hour.
- 4). Give the judgment to the local sheriff to execute the eviction. If a property owner prevails in the court, he still may not self-evict a squatter. The judgment must be presented to the sheriff. The sheriff, for a fee, executes the eviction by posting a five day notice on the premises advising the squatter that he must vacate the premises in that time period. If the squatter does not vacate after five days, the sheriff will change the lock on the doors or arrest the squatter as a trespasser thereby executing the eviction.
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