How much notice does a landlord have to give before filing an eviction for unpaid rent in California?

3 business days. Those days are business days: the statute excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays. The written notice must demand the rent and state the amount due plus payment and contact details for the landlord or designated recipient. Paying within the notice period preserves the tenancy.

How much notice is required to evict for a lease violation in California?

3 business days. Those days are business days here too, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays. The written notice must require the tenant to perform the breached condition or covenant or deliver possession, and performance within the period cures the breach.

How long does an eviction take in California?

Roughly 25–30 calendar days from notice to lockout in an uncontested nonpayment case, about four weeks. That is a floor built from the statutory minimums, not a promise. Sheriff scheduling in large counties routinely adds one to several more weeks on top.

Can a landlord change the locks or shut off utilities instead of going to court in California?

No — California bars self-help eviction by statute; a landlord must go through the court process. Locking a tenant out, cutting utilities, or hauling out their belongings is illegal in California. It costs the landlord actual damages PLUS up to $100 for each day or part of a day of violation, with a $250 minimum per separate cause of action, and the tenant's attorney's fees.

What is the eviction process and timeline in California?

Verified October 1, 2026 Correction October 2, 2026 All California topics →

Check your municipality. California does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice periods, and fee limits that are stricter than the state law on this page. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below. Verified local pages: Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Hayward, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County (unincorporated), Mountain View, Oakland, Oxnard, Pasadena, Pomona, Richmond, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, West Hollywood.

What the state record says

California has a statewide rent cap. The Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) limits annual increases on covered units to the lesser of 5% plus regional CPI or 10%, with at most two increases per 12 months. Many units are exempt, and stricter local rent-control ordinances control where they exist. The cap is codified at Civ. Code § 1947.12. It is measured against the lowest gross rent charged in the prior 12 months, and rent discounts, incentives, concessions or credits the owner offered and the tenant accepted are left out of that figure, so the cap is worked out from the undiscounted rent. The gross monthly rate and any owner-offered discounts, incentives, concessions or credits must be listed and identified separately in the lease or rental agreement, or in any amendment to an existing one. The cap remains in effect until January 1, 2030, when the section is repealed. Exempt: housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the previous 15 years (a rolling window), unless it is a mobilehome; single-family homes, condos and other units that can be sold separately, where the owner is not a REIT, a corporation, an LLC with a corporate member or mobilehome park management, and the tenants have been given the statutory written exemption notice; a duplex where the owner lived in one unit at the start of the tenancy and still does, and neither unit is an accessory or junior accessory dwelling unit; deed-restricted or subsidized affordable housing; school and college dormitories; and housing under a local rent-control law that limits annual increases to less than the state cap.

California evictions run through an 'unlawful detainer' lawsuit, and the famous three-day notices now count business days: the pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit notices exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays, while the no-cure three-day quit notice for waste, nuisance, unlawful use, or prohibited subletting still runs in calendar days.

Cited to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161 (2)-(4) and 17 more cited sources · Verified October 1, 2026

A tenant who pays everything demanded within the notice period keeps the tenancy as of right; after that, saving it takes the court's discretionary relief from forfeiture, which stays available until the sheriff actually returns possession. Once the case is filed the tenant has 10 court days — roughly two calendar weeks — to respond, a 2025 doubling from five days that many guides still miss; silence lets the clerk enter judgment and issue the writ of possession on application, while an answer forces trial within 20 days of a trial-setting request. The sheriff then serves the writ and occupants get five days to leave before lockout, putting the statutory best case around four weeks from notice to lockout — sheriff backlogs and contested cases stretch it well beyond. Layered on top, the Tenant Protection Act requires just cause to end most tenancies past 12 months and a cure-opportunity notice before terminating over a curable breach, and many cities add stricter rules of their own. Self-help is flatly illegal: cutting utilities, changing locks, or removing doors costs the landlord actual damages plus up to $100 a day (minimum $250 per cause of action) and the tenant's attorney fees.

California eviction process at a glance

Nonpayment notice (pay-or-quit)	3 business days
Nonpayment notice rules (day counting, cure rights, service)	Those days are business days: the statute excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays. The written notice must demand the rent and state the amount due plus payment and contact details for the landlord or designated recipient. Paying within the notice period preserves the tenancy. The requirement is CCP 1161(2), which calls for written 'three days' notice, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and other judicial holidays' demanding the rent. The weekend/holiday exclusion sits in the statute text itself (AB 2343, Stats. 2018, ch. 260, in force since September 1, 2019). Under the CCP 12/12a general counting rule the service day is excluded and a last day landing on a holiday rolls forward. Service is under CCP 1162(a): personal delivery; if the tenant is absent, substituted service on a person of suitable age at residence or work PLUS mailing; failing both, post-and-mail. Cure ladder: paying the demanded rent within the notice period preserves the tenancy as of right; once the notice expires the statutory cure right ends. Post-filing and post-judgment, reinstatement runs through discretionary relief from forfeiture (CCP 1179) — available on verified petition 'at any time prior to restoration of the premises to the landlord,' conditioned on full payment of rent due — plus CCP 1174(c): where the lease has not by its terms expired and the notice did not declare a forfeiture, the court MAY (and for a written lease of more than one year containing no forfeiture clause SHALL) order that no writ issue until 5 days after entry of judgment, during which the tenant or any interested party may pay the rent, interest, damages, and costs into court, satisfying the judgment and restoring the tenancy. A separate defense runs alongside that ladder until January 20, 2029. Under Civil Code section 1946.3, the Social Security Tenant Protection Act of 2025 (in force January 1, 2026), a tenant may assert Social Security hardship — a loss of income from an interruption in Social Security payments caused by the federal government's action or inaction — as an affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer based on nonpayment. The tenant must show the court that Social Security benefits the household typically receives were terminated, delayed, or reduced through no fault of the tenant, and that the loss prevented payment of the rent the landlord sued on. On that showing the court stays the case until the earlier of 14 days after the benefits are restored or six months after the stay issues. The rent is still owed: within 14 days of restoration the tenant must pay all past due rent or agree to a payment plan with the owner, and a tenant who does is restored to the tenancy, with the case dismissed with prejudice or the judgment set aside. The defense reaches nonpayment cases only, and it covers a dwelling in a mobilehome park as well as a conventional unit.
Lease-violation notice period	3 business days
Lease-violation notice rules (cure vs. termination)	Those days are business days here too, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays. The written notice must require the tenant to perform the breached condition or covenant or deliver possession, and performance within the period cures the breach. The requirement is CCP 1161(3). A second layer applies to tenancies covered by the Tenant Protection Act (Civ. Code 1946.2 — generally 12+ months' continuous lawful occupancy in non-exempt housing): before serving a termination notice for a curable just-cause violation, the owner 'shall first give notice of the violation to the tenant with an opportunity to cure the violation pursuant to paragraph (3) of Section 1161' — a cure-first prerequisite many notices flunk. Breaches falling under 1161(4) are not curable.
Unconditional-quit grounds	CCP 1161(4): assigning or subletting or committing waste contrary to the conditions or covenants of the lease, maintaining/committing/permitting a nuisance upon the premises, or using the premises for an unlawful purpose 'terminates the lease' and entitles the landlord to restitution 'upon service of three days' notice to quit' — no cure right. This paragraph LACKS the weekend/holiday exclusion of paragraphs (2)-(3), so its three days are calendar days under CCP 12/12a (service day excluded; a last day on a holiday extends to the next non-holiday). Specified offenses (Civ. Code 3482.8 public nuisances, 3485(c) and 3486(c) offenses) are statutorily deemed nuisances committed on the premises.
Court and action	California's eviction is an 'unlawful detainer' action (CCP 1161 et seq.), a summary proceeding heard in superior court — ordinarily as a limited civil case where the demand is $35,000 or less. The summons follows the general civil form (CCP 412.20) but with the shortened response clock of CCP 1167 in place of the usual 30 days.
Filing to hearing	The tenant's response is due within 10 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays, after service of the complaint (CCP 1167(a) — extended from 5 days by AB 2347, operative 2025-01-01), plus an additional 5 court days if service was completed by mail or through the Secretary of State's address confidentiality program (1167(b)). If no response is filed, the clerk — on the plaintiff's written application and proof of service — SHALL enter default and judgment for restitution of the premises, issuing a writ of execution immediately on request (CCP 1169), with no hearing. If the tenant answers, trial must be held no later than the 20th day after either party requests trial setting (CCP 1170.5(a)); the court may extend that period on the agreement of all parties, but any other extension requires a hearing, and if trial is not held in time the court, on finding the landlord reasonably likely to prevail, must order the tenant to pay the landlord's damages from the delay into court as rent would have come due, with trial within 15 days of any missed payment (1170.5(b)-(d)).
Writ of possession and lockout	The possession judgment is enforced by a 'writ of possession of real property' (CCP 715.010, issued pursuant to 712.010). There is no general waiting period between judgment and issuance — on a default the clerk issues it with the judgment (CCP 1169); the only statutory delay is the CCP 1174(c) five-day pay-into-court window (discretionary where the lease is unexpired and no forfeiture was declared; mandatory for a written lease over one year with no forfeiture clause). The sheriff or marshal serves or posts the writ, and if the property 'is not vacated within five days from the date of service of a copy of the writ on the occupant' (or, where posted, five days from service on the judgment debtor), the levying officer removes the occupants and places the landlord in possession (715.010(b)(2)). Personal property left behind (except a mobilehome) is stored and disposed of under CCP 1174 unless the owner pays reasonable storage costs and reclaims it within 15 days of the landlord taking possession (715.010(b)(3)). Relief from forfeiture (CCP 1179) remains available until possession is actually restored.
Appeal window	30 days
Best-case uncontested timeline (derived from statutory minimums — contested cases run longer)	Roughly 25–30 calendar days from notice to lockout in an uncontested nonpayment case, about four weeks. That is a floor built from the statutory minimums, not a promise. Sheriff scheduling in large counties routinely adds one to several more weeks on top. The steps behind that span: a 3-business-day pay-or-quit notice (≈3–5 calendar days), then the complaint is filed and the summons served, then a 10-court-day response window (≈14 calendar days), then a clerk-entered default judgment and writ of possession on written application (CCP 1169), then the sheriff serves the writ, then a 5-day vacate period, then lockout. A contested case adds the 20-day trial-setting window and trial; appeal (30 days, no automatic stay) extends further.
Self-help eviction (lockout, utility shutoff) barred	Yes
Self-help scope and tenant remedies	Locking a tenant out, cutting utilities, or hauling out their belongings is illegal in California. It costs the landlord actual damages PLUS up to $100 for each day or part of a day of violation, with a $250 minimum per separate cause of action, and the tenant's attorney's fees. The rule is Civ. Code 789.3. It reaches a landlord who, with intent to terminate the occupancy, willfully interrupts or terminates utility service (water, heat, electricity, gas, telephone, and similar), changes locks or uses bootlocks, removes exterior doors or windows, or removes the tenant's property without written consent. The prevailing tenant recovers reasonable attorney's fees, and injunctive relief is available against ongoing violations. The only lawful route to possession is the unlawful detainer judgment enforced by the levying officer under the writ of possession.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, California Eviction Process Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/eviction-process/california/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

Three days does not always mean three calendar days — Day counting is mixed by design: the pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit notices (CCP 1161(2)-(3)) exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays in the statute text itself (AB 2343, Stats. 2018, ch. 260, in force since September 1, 2019), while the no-cure quit notice under 1161(4) and the five-day vacate period after the writ (CCP 715.010) carry no exclusion and run in calendar days under the CCP 12/12a general rule — service day excluded, and a last day landing on a holiday rolls forward. Secondary sources routinely flatten all of these to a bare 'three days.'
The response clock doubled in 2025 — most older guides still say 5 days — The tenant's response to the complaint is due within 10 court days (CCP 1167(a), AB 2347, operative January 1, 2025).
No general five-day wait between judgment and writ — CCP 1174(c) is a conditional carve-out that sources overgeneralize: its five-day pay-into-court delay is discretionary generally, and mandatory only for a written lease over one year without a forfeiture clause.
The 30-day appeal window is rule-based — and appeal does not stay the eviction — The 30 days comes from CRC rule 8.822(a)(1), not the unlawful-detainer chapter: the earliest of 30 days after clerk or party service of notice of entry, with a 90-day backstop, for limited civil cases — the ordinary residential posture. Appeal does NOT stay enforcement; a stay under CCP 1176(a) requires an extreme-hardship/no-irreparable-injury finding, and every stay must be conditioned on paying the reasonable monthly rental value into court monthly in advance.
Most COVID-era protections have expired — The COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act's eviction protections, once Code of Civil Procedure sections 1179.01 and following, are no longer in the code, but some circulating notice forms still reference them. One rule remains: a landlord may not charge or try to collect late fees on COVID-19 rental debt from a tenant who submitted a declaration of COVID-19-related financial distress (Civ. Code § 1942.9).
Two layers flagged here but not covered by the figures — Civ. Code 1946.2 (Tenant Protection Act) adds a just-cause requirement and a cure-first notice prerequisite for curable breaches on covered tenancies, plus relocation-assistance duties for no-fault terminations. Many cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and others) layer stricter local just-cause/eviction ordinances — their existence is flagged, but local law is not covered by the figures on this page.
Mobilehome parks are out of scope — Mobilehome parks are governed by the separate Mobilehome Residency Law (Civ. Code 798 et seq.), whose 60-day termination scheme sits at 798.55. Those figures do not apply to the rules on this page.
A Social Security hardship defense runs to January 20, 2029 — Civil Code section 1946.3 took effect January 1, 2026 and repeals itself on January 20, 2029. It applies only to unlawful detainer actions based on nonpayment of rent, and the Judicial Council has until January 1, 2027 to adopt or modify forms for it.
The sources behind these figures — The eviction figures on this page rest on CCP 12, 12a, 1161, 1162, 1167, 1169, 1170.5, 1174, 1176, 1179, and 715.010; Civ. Code 789.3, 1946.2, and 1946.3; and California Rules of Court rule 8.822 — the law as it stood on October 1, 2026.
Two fees cannot be the basis of an eviction — In newer large buildings, unpaid parking rent under a separately leased parking agreement cannot form the basis of an unlawful detainer action, although the owner may revoke the tenant's right to the space once payment is 45 days late. That rule reaches only a property of 16 or more residential units that was issued a certificate of occupancy on or after January 1, 2025 and stands in Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Shasta or Ventura County, and it does not reach a unit with its own attached garage, a development that is entirely deed-restricted affordable housing, one financed by low-income housing tax credits or by state housing agency tax-exempt bonds, or a unit leased to a tenant with a federal housing voucher. Separately, and statewide, where a tenant has opted into positive rent reporting, failing to pay the reporting fee is not a ground to end the tenancy under Code of Civil Procedure section 1161 or otherwise. Civ. Code §§ 1947.1(d), (e)(2), 1954.07(h)(1).
An eviction notice cannot be served electronically — California's electronic transactions title states that an electronic record may not be substituted for any notice that must be served under Code of Civil Procedure section 1162. A notice to pay rent or quit, to perform a covenant or quit, or to quit that is sent only by email is not served. Civ. Code § 1633.3(c).
A new owner or manager out of compliance cannot evict for that period's rent — The rental agreement must state the name, telephone number and street address for personal service of the person authorized to manage the premises and of the owner or the person authorized to accept service, notices and demands, together with the name, telephone number and address of whoever receives the rent. That information must be kept current, and a successor owner or manager has 15 days after taking over to comply. A successor owner or manager who has not complied may not serve a notice to pay rent or quit under Code of Civil Procedure section 1161, and may not otherwise evict, for rent that came due while they were out of compliance. The tenant still owes that rent. This applies to every dwelling structure of one or more units offered to the public for rent. Civ. Code §§ 1961, 1962(a), (c).

Common questions: California eviction process

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before filing an eviction for unpaid rent in California?: 3 business days. Those days are business days: the statute excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays. The written notice must demand the rent and state the amount due plus payment and contact details for the landlord or designated recipient. Paying within the notice period preserves the tenancy.
How much notice is required to evict for a lease violation in California?: 3 business days. Those days are business days here too, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays. The written notice must require the tenant to perform the breached condition or covenant or deliver possession, and performance within the period cures the breach.
How long does an eviction take in California?: Roughly 25–30 calendar days from notice to lockout in an uncontested nonpayment case, about four weeks. That is a floor built from the statutory minimums, not a promise. Sheriff scheduling in large counties routinely adds one to several more weeks on top.
How long does a tenant have to appeal an eviction judgment in California?: 30 days.
Can a landlord change the locks or shut off utilities instead of going to court in California?: No — California bars self-help eviction by statute; a landlord must go through the court process. Locking a tenant out, cutting utilities, or hauling out their belongings is illegal in California. It costs the landlord actual damages PLUS up to $100 for each day or part of a day of violation, with a $250 minimum per separate cause of action, and the tenant's attorney's fees.

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (October 1, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

Correction, October 2, 2026 — Notice periods now print in the unit each statute uses (correction). Entry notice: the statutes of Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Washington say two days and Oklahoma's says one day, and those pages show days; Delaware's and Vermont's say 48 hours, and their pages, which had shown 2 days, now show 48 hours. Eviction notice for unpaid rent: California, Florida and Utah give three days that leave out Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and their pages now show 3 business days, as does California's lease-violation notice; Nevada's shows 7 judicial days; Alabama's two notices show 7 business days. Each statute was read on its official site on October 1, 2026. No period changed.

Citations

Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161 · (2)-(4) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1162 · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1167 · (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1169 (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1170.5 · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1174 · (c) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1176 · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1179 (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 715.010 · (b)(2)-(3) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Civ. Code § 789.3 (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 · (b)-(c) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.822 · (a)(1) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.3 (Social Security Tenant Protection Act of 2025; Stats. 2025, ch. 337 (AB 246), effective January 1, 2026, repealed January 20, 2029) · § 1946.3(a)-(j) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.1 · (d), (e)(2) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.07 · (h)(1) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Civ. Code § 1633.3 · (c) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Civ. Code § 1962 · (c) (verified 2026) Official source
Cal. Civ. Code § 1961 (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Web verification against leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (Civ. Code 1950.5, 827; AB 12 bill text) with corroborating county/city government sources (SF.gov, LA County DCBA, San Mateo County) for AB 1482 and Civ. Code 1954 operation. October 1, 2026: every section the security deposit, rent increase, late fee, entry and eviction answers rest on was read again on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, with its credit line: Civil Code sections 827, 1671, 1942.9, 1946.2, 1946.3, 1947.12, 1950.5, 1954 and 1954.50 to 1954.535 and Code of Civil Procedure sections 12, 12a, 715.010, 1013, 1161, 1162, 1167, 1169, 1170.5, 1174, 1176 and 1179, with rule 8.822 of the California Rules of Court on courts.ca.gov. The newest amendments to these sections are 2025 acts in force since January 1, 2026. All 1,040 chapters of the 2026 statutes were screened, and none amends, adds or repeals any of them.