ANSWERING AN EVICTION COMPLAINT

1 ANSWERING AN EVICTION COMPLAINT A Self-Help Guide 301 S. Miller St., Suite 116 Santa Maria, CA 93454 Voice: (805) 922-9909 Fax: (805) 347-4494 Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County 301 E. Ca on Perdido Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Voice: (805) 963-6754 Fax: (805) 963-6756 106 S. C Street, Suite A Lompoc, CA 93436 Voice: (805) 736-6582 2 LEGAL AID FOUNDATION EVICTION DEFENSE POLICY The Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County provides this Landlord/Tenant packet for tenants who seek to represent themselves in EVICTION actions. However, Legal Aid discourages the filing of Answers that have no meritorious defenses. The Legal Aid Foundation cannot represent a tenant who does not have a meritorious defense and/or where our assistance will only delay an EVICTION and result in a waste of the court s time.

2 The fact that Legal Aid does provide a tenant with some type of assistance does NOT mean that we will represent a tenant in an EVICTION case. Due to recent and continuing cutbacks in funding, our office can provide representation in only very few EVICTION cases. Legal Aid tries to handle those cases where there are serious health and safety violations, discrimination or retaliation. For this reason, we have completed this handout that will prepare you to be your own advocate and representative. In the past, many tenants have represented themselves and have often won because they were prepared to present and argue their cases. 3 HOW TO USE THIS PACKET Read all of the instructions carefully. You should fill out the forms in this packet and file your Answer . If you want to challenge the EVICTION or anything else in the COMPLAINT , you must file an Answer in order to get a court hearing.

3 Even if you plan to move out soon, you may want to file an Answer and attend the court hearing in order to avoid a judgment which could damage your credit. IF YOU DO NOT FILE AN ANSWER, YOU CAN BE EVICTED AS SOON AS 10 (TEN) DAYS AFTER BEING SERVED WITH THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT 4 EVICTION PROCEDURES THE unlawful detainer CASE With very few exceptions, a landlord can only evict a tenant by following certain legal procedures. STEP 1: A landlord must first give you a WRITTEN NOTICE telling you that he intends to end your tenancy. There are several types of written notices a landlord can give you: a. THREE-DAY NOTICE TO PAY OR QUIT" The landlord is giving you the option of paying the rent you owe within 3 days or move out. The Notice is normally given because the landlord believes you owe him past due rent. NOTE: The notice must state the EXACT amount of rent that you owe, and for what month you owe it.

4 B. THREE-DAY NOTICE TO PERFORM COVENANT OR QUIT A "covenant" is an agreement between you and the landlord to do something, or refrain from doing something. Some examples of a breaking a covenant are making too much noise or other disturbances created by you or having a pet when no pets are allowed under your lease, etc. The landlord is giving you a choice to stop doing what the notice says you are doing wrong ("perform the covenant ) or move out. c. THREE-DAY NOTICE TO QUIT FOR NON-CURABLE BREACH This Notice is normally served because the landlord thinks you are damaging or destroying parts of the premises, or using the premises for an unlawful purpose. Here, the landlord is saying that you do not have a choice to fix what you have damaged. In this case, the landlord just wants you to move out. d. THIRTY-DAY NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF TENANCY This Notice tells you that the landlord want you to move out within 30 days of receiving the notice.

5 With very few exceptions, the notice does not have to state a reason for ending your tenancy. In Santa Barbara County, we do not have a just cause law, so a landlord can evict you without stating any reason at all, so long as he gives you the required 30 days written notice. However, as stated in more detail later, the landlord cannot give a 30-day notice to retaliate against you or to discriminate against you. [continued on next page] NOTE: To be legally effective, the Notice must be properly served on you. This means that first the landlord or his agent must try to find you and give it to you. If he can't find you at your home or work, his next option is to hand it to a "person of suitable age and discretion" at your home or work and also mail a copy to you. If he can't find someone at your home or work to leave it with then he may serve it on you by the "nail and mail method.

6 This means that he can post a copy of the Notice in a visible place on your house or apartment, such as the front door, notify anyone living at your home if he can find someone, and mail another copy to your address. (Note: if the Notice is for increase in rent, the landlord has the choice of posting a copy of the Notice in a visible place on your house or apartment or mailing a copy to your address.) 5 STEP 2: The landlord must wait the required number of days (three or thirty days, depending on the type of notice) for you to do what he demands in the notice. Then, if you do not comply, he must file an unlawful detainer COMPLAINT in the Superior Court and have a copy of the COMPLAINT served on you. Again, the unlawful detainer COMPLAINT must be properly served on you. However, the nail and mail method cannot be used for service of the COMPLAINT .

7 With very few exceptions, you must be personally served with the COMPLAINT . STEP 3: After you are personally served, if you intend to oppose the EVICTION , you must file a written Answer to the COMPLAINT with Superior Court within five calendar days of being served. The five days begin with the day after you receive the COMPLAINT . This guide provides help on how to prepare and file such an Answer. Example: If you are served with the COMPLAINT on a Tuesday, then Wednesday is the first day and Sunday is the fifth day. But since the fifth day is on a weekend and the court is closed, you can file your Answer the next day, Monday. If you do not file an Answer, the landlord may take a default against you. That means that after the five days are up, the landlord can get a Judgment against you from the Superior Court and can have you removed from your house (if necessary) within a few days.

8 SOME POSSIBLE RESPONSES TO THE unlawful detainer COMPLAINT : Option 1: You may decide to do nothing. If you don t do what is demanded in the notice, and you don t file an Answer to the COMPLAINT with the Superior Court, you will probably be evicted by the Sheriff s office in a few days. Option 2: Try Mediation or negotiation. You may be able to work something out, like an agreed-upon move-out date. Try talking to your landlord or his attorney to see if they would be interested in mediating through the City of Santa Barbara Rental Housing Mediation Task Force (730-1523), or the Community Mediation Program (963-6765). Be careful to get a written extension of time to answer the COMPLAINT from your landlord if necessary. Option 3: File an Answer to the unlawful detainer COMPLAINT If you do file an Answer, your Answer must be received by the Superior Court Clerk by 3:00 of the fifth day.

9 If the fifth day is a legal holiday or a weekend, you have until 3:00 on the next weekday to file your answer. The Superior Court is located at 1100 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, California 93101. To be safe, file your Answer in person at the Court. You can still file your Answer after the fifth day so long as your landlord has not requested that default be entered against you. You can find out if default has been entered by calling the Superior Court Clerk's office at (805) 568-2740. If you have a good excuse for not responding within the 5-day period, and you have a valid defense to the unlawful detainer COMPLAINT , you may be able to have a default judgment thrown out and still have your day in court to present 6your case. You must file a Motion to Set Aside Default and Default Judgment, along with an Answer to the COMPLAINT .

10 AFTER YOU FILE YOUR ANSWER: WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE TRIAL? 1. You may get a Request for Setting in the mail. This form is filed with the Court, usually by the landlord, asking for the Court to set a date for the trial in your case. California law says that the trial should be no more than 20 days from the date the COMPLAINT was filed. 2. You will receive a Notice of Trial from the Superior Court. This notice will provide the dates of two court appearances you must attend. First is the date for the "readiness and settlement" conference. Attendance at this conference is mandatory, and the court can fine you $750 for not attending. You will not have the opportunity to preset evidence or argue your case to the Judge at the settlement conference. The trial will take place about one week after the readiness and settlement conference if the case is not settled.