California unlawful detainer document preparation

Unlawful detainer is California's expedited statutory eviction procedure under Code of Civil Procedure §1161-1170. It is the only lawful way for a landlord to recover possession of residential or commercial property from a tenant who has stopped paying rent, breached the lease, holdover, or refused to leave after proper tenancy-termination notice. Self-help eviction (changing locks, shutting off utilities, removing belongings) is criminally prohibited under Civil Code §789.3 and exposes the landlord to statutory damages.

The UD timeline

1. Step 1 — Pre-filing notice. A 3-day notice to pay rent or quit under CCP §1161(2); a 30-day or 60-day notice of termination of tenancy under Civil Code §1946 / §1946.1 (60 days when the tenant has resided 12 months or longer); or a 3-day notice to perform covenants or quit for non-monetary breach.
2. Step 2 — Service of the notice. Personal service, substitute service plus mailing, or post-and-mail under CCP §1162, depending on which method the law allows for the underlying ground.
3. Step 3 — Wait the notice period. Excludes weekends and court holidays when the notice expires on those days for shorter notices.
4. Step 4 — File UD-100 + SUM-130. The unlawful detainer complaint and summons go to the Superior Court of the county where the property is located.
5. Step 5 — Tenant response (5 days). Tenant files UD-105 answer, demurrer, or motion to quash service within 5 calendar days of service of the summons (CCP §1167).
6. Step 6 — Trial setting. UD cases are set on an expedited trial calendar (within 20 days of a trial-setting request).
7. Step 7 — Judgment. Court enters UD-110 judgment for possession (and any monetary recovery). Sheriff serves a Writ of Possession (EJ-130) and posts a 5-day notice to vacate.

What we prepare

Tenant-side: defending an unlawful detainer

Tenants have 5 calendar days from service of the summons to respond (CCP §1167). Skipping the response leads to default judgment and a sheriff lockout in 2-3 weeks. We prepare the UD-105 answer, raising affirmative defenses (uninhabitable conditions, retaliatory eviction, improper notice, discrimination, breach of warranty of habitability under Civil Code §1941.1) where the facts you give us support them. If the case is a non-payment-of-rent UD and there is no genuine dispute, we can prepare a UD-115 stipulation for entry of judgment that buys the tenant additional time to move out by agreement.

What we do not do

We are a California Legal Document Assistant. We cannot give legal advice, choose your strategy, draft a custom motion that requires legal analysis, or appear in court. We can prepare every standard UD form at your direction. For a contested trial, complex AB 1482 / rent-control / Costa-Hawkins issues, or a habitability defense that may need expert witnesses, we recommend you also consult a licensed California attorney before filing.