The San Diego Eviction Process explained by a San Diego Unlawful Detainer Attorney.

The most typical eviction in San Diego is an eviction for non-payment of rent so that is what we will discuss here.

The process starts when a tenant fails to pay rent by the due date.  At that point a landlord can decide to work with the tenant or begin the Unlawful Detainer process.  The landlord must personally or post and nail serve the tenant with a 3 day notice to pay or quit.  It is extremely important that the three day notice to pay or quit is filled out correctly and served correctly.  If it is not, there is a good chance that you will lose your unlawful detainer trial (and may lose by motion).

If the tenant pays the rent within three days of being served with the three day notice, the process is over and the tenant can stay.

If the tenant fails to pay the rent within three days of being served the three day notice, the Landlord must file an Unlawful Detainer Complaint with the Court.  The complaint is a form available on most court websites.  It is important that the form be filled out correctly.  The complaint and a summons must be served on the tenant who then becomes the Defendant in the legal action.  The Landlord becomes the Plaintiff

The Defendant then has 5 days to respond to the Unlawful Detainer Complaint by filing an answer or a motion (the motions available to a Defendant are beyond the scope of this article) within 5 days.

If the Defendant does not file a response with Court within 5 days, the Landlord can take a default.  This effectively ends the process and allows the Plaintiff/Landlord to get a judgment for posssession.  The Plaintiff/Landlord can then fill out a form with the Sheriff to have the Sheriff recover possesion of the rental unit.

If the tenant does file an answer, the Plaintiff/Landlord must request that the Court set a trial date.  The trial date should be set within 20 days.

On the day of the trial, the Landlord must prove that there is a lease, rent was due on a particular date, the rent was not paid, that a proper three day notice to pay or quit was served on the tenant, that the tenant did not pay the rent within three days of being served the 3 day notice, and they were properly served with the complaint.  Typically, the tenant will attempt to bring a habitability defense.

If the Landlord succeeds at trial, she can obtain a writ of possesion and have the San Diego Sheriff remove the tenant.  If the Landlord loses, she is were she was before the three day notice was served and must start the process over.

Our costs page explains the costs for an unlawful detainer.