Real estate attorney, Leo B. Siegel explains the process for a Sheriff eviction in California which is the last step to evict a tenant or get a family member out of a home when they refuse to move out.
How to Evict a Tenant in California
You may want to first watch Leo’s video, Relative Living in Inherited House which profiles a case study that started with the tenants being served a legal notice to move out. The type of notice given depends upon the situation. It could be a 30-day notice, a 60-day notice, and in some cases a 3-day eviction notice. When the tenant does not move out a case gets set for trial.
Mr. Siegel explains the unlawful detainer trial process in another video, Is a Trial Necessary for an Eviction.
Sheriff Eviction Notice California
When you take your Writ of Possession to the Sheriff there are forms that you fill out first that alert the sheriff to whether there are drugs present if you know, whether there is gang involvement, whether there are weapons or dogs, any number of other things that would cause the sheriff to perhaps be fearful. It is not the normal situation that the sheriff goes in with guns drawn. If you alert the sheriff to the fact that there are weapons present, gang members, dogs, or something of that nature, then they might draw their guns.
After Sheriff Lockout California
You have to have a locksmith with you because sometimes the tenant changes the locks on the house without the owner knowing it and does not give the owner a key. The sheriff is not going to break into the house and is not going to let you break into the house. You have to have a locksmith there to get the sheriff access. The sheriff goes into the property, looks around to make sure there is nobody hiding under the bed, will escort out anybody that is present, and turn possession over to the owner.
It is normally a pretty smooth process. Yes, you do wait around. Normally the sheriff is more specific than 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock. They’ll usually give you a time, an hour, or a time range when they are going to meet you there with your locksmith.
Does a Sheriff Eviction Happen On Weekends?
The Sheriff does not evict or issue a Writ of Possession on weekends or holidays.
What Happens to Personal Property Left Behind?
The Writ will provide information to the tenant. On the Writ of Possession, there will be a form attached to it that alerts the tenant to what happens to the personal possessions they leave on the property. Normally the owner must keep the possessions in the property, or store them elsewhere and protect them for 15 days to give the tenant a reasonable opportunity to set up a reasonable time with the owner during business hours to pick up their personal effects.
Anything left in the property after that, there is an auction procedure that the owner would have to go through to dispense with the property. It is somewhat expensive, laborious, and annoying.
However, if the property is less than $300, under normal circumstances it’s an abandoned property. The owner can do anything they want with it. It is the owner’s property. They can keep it. They can throw it out. They can sell it. They can do whatever they want with it if it is worth less than $300.
It would take some considerable property to be more than $300. For example, a used television might only be worth $25 whereas it might have cost hundreds of dollars to purchase it.
If it is worth more than $300 there is a laborious auction procedure you have to go through. You can store the property offsite and give the tenant the opportunity to go pick it up. That is what happens with the property that is left on site after the tenant vacates.
Settling an Eviction Case at Trial
That goes back to settling the case at trial. Settlement agreements, at least a lot of the ones a lot of attorneys prepare have clauses in them that alert the tenant to the fact in the settlement when you vacate by the agreed date, any personal property that you leave in the premises is deemed abandoned without having to go through an auction procedure or special procedures to dispense with it. That is another advantage of settling the case prior to trial.
How to Seal an Eviction California?
As Mr. Siegel mentions in his video “If the tenant settles the unlawful detainer case, usually in the hallway before the trial starts, or before if it settles, the unlawful detainer case stays masked. No future landlord would ever see that tenant had been subject to eviction.”
Work With a Team of Professionals
Leo B. Siegel is a real estate attorney with 34 years of experience handling landlord/tenant issues, and evictions, including the type involved in the case study where the successor trustee named in a living trust had to go through the eviction process with a sister living in an inherited house.
Mr. Siegel also handles co-ownership disputes, contract disputes, fraud, title issues, easements, and boundary disputes. He may be reached at 831-768-9110 or online at the Stone Siegel Law Firm.
When you need to sell a home in probate or trust contact Kathleen Daniels at 408-972-1822. She is certified probate and trust real estate agent and has a team of experienced professionals to serve her clients. Kathleen is a firm believer that dealing with a tenant or family member that refuses to move is best left in the hands of a professional like Mr. Siegel who can evict a tenant with the Sheriff eviction process in California and Santa Clara County.