Hiring an Eviction Lawyer in California: What Landlords Should Expect

California is a state where most of an eviction is decided before the complaint is ever filed. The court case is called an unlawful detainer, and the procedure is fast, but three layers sit on top of it: the unlawful detainer rules in the Code of Civil Procedure, the statewide just cause and rent cap rules in the Tenant Protection Act, and a local ordinance in many of the largest cities that overrides both. An uncontested case runs roughly five to nine weeks. A contested one runs three to six months. That is the environment a California eviction lawyer works in, and it shapes what you should expect when you hire one.

What a California landlord attorney actually does

• Decides whether just cause applies. Under Civil Code § 1946.2, just cause attaches after 12 months of continuous lawful occupancy, with a special test when a tenant was added to the lease. A notice that does not state a statutory reason where just cause applies is void.
• Checks the exemption. Single-family homes and condominiums are exempt only when the owner is not a real estate investment trust, corporation or corporate LLC and the written exemption notice was given to the tenant.
• Drafts the right notice. That means a three-day notice to pay rent or quit, a three-day notice to cure or quit, a three-day notice to quit with no cure, or a 30-day or 60-day termination notice, each under Code of Civil Procedure § 1161 or Civil Code § 1946.1.
• Gets the amount right. The nonpayment notice must state the precise rent due, the payment details and, where it applies, the usual days and hours for in-person payment. Overstating the amount is fatal.
• Handles service and proof of service. Personal, substituted or posting-and-mailing service under § 1162, with a proof of service that goes on the complaint.
• Files in superior court, manages the response period and tries the case. Then the writ of possession goes to the sheriff or other levying officer.

What it costs in California

Most California landlord attorneys handle an uncontested case for a flat fee, and contested cases move to hourly billing. The audited guide for this state does not state court filing fees or attorney fee ranges, so ask each firm what its fee covers and check the superior court fee schedule for the county where the property sits. Ask specifically about process server or sheriff charges, and whether a trial or a demurrer is included. A case where the tenant answers, raises habitability or invokes a local ordinance should be budgeted as contested from the start.

The mistakes California lawyers are hired to prevent

• Assuming an exemption without the written exemption notice.
• Demanding the wrong amount in a three-day notice, such as late fees, utilities, rent older than one year or an increase that exceeded the cap.
• Counting the three days as calendar days. They exclude Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays.
• Adding five days for mailing. That extension does not apply to unlawful detainer notices.
• Serving a no-fault notice without the one month relocation payment, or without telling the tenant whether it is a payment or a waiver of the last month's rent.
• Sending a substantial remodel notice without describing the work and attaching the permits.
• Ignoring a local ordinance because the state rules were followed.
• Changing the locks, removing doors or shutting off utilities before the sheriff acts.

When to bring in an attorney

The guide notes that the cheapest point to involve a landlord-side attorney is when the notice is being drafted, not after it has been served. Hire one when you are not sure whether just cause or the rent cap applies, when you plan a no-fault termination such as an owner move-in or a substantial remodel, when the property is in a city with its own rent stabilization or just cause ordinance (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Monica and Berkeley are among them), or when the tenant answers. Since January 1, 2025 the tenant has 10 court days to respond, and demurrers and motions to strike are now heard on a short schedule, so a contested case moves in both directions at once.

Questions to ask before you hire

Ask which counties and cities the firm practices in, and whether it knows the local ordinance for your property. Ask whether the flat fee covers the notice, service, the complaint and a default judgment, or only some of them. Ask how it handles the exemption notice and the relocation payment for no-fault cases. And ask what happens to the fee if the tenant files an answer.

Where to start

Read the California eviction process guide for the full sequence and timeline, then look at the California eviction attorneys listed here. Firms are organized by city, and you can contact them from any listing. Nothing on this page is legal advice; check the current statutes and your court's requirements before you act.