30-Day Notice from Landlord for Roommate. How long could this take? Los Angeles

[Luckyword]

We're on a month to month lease, and my landlord is going to give a 30-Day Notice at the beginning of November, because of a deadbeat roommate who has been consistently behind in rent. The landlord has made it clear that I'll be allowed to stay, along with another roommate, but that the deadbeat must go. I want this person gone as well. If the roommate refuses to leave, how long could it take to get that person out? I've read the guide to California Tenants Rights, and understand the procedure, that is the writ of possession, the unlawful detainer lawsuit, etcetera. What I'm wondering is, from November 1st, how long could it take to make its way through the courts in Los Angeles, should the tenant not leave voluntarily by December 1st, at the end of the 30-Day Notice? Thanks.

 

[sandyclaus]

We're on a month to month lease, and my landlord is going to give a 30-Day Notice at the beginning of November, because of a deadbeat roommate who has been consistently behind in rent. The landlord has made it clear that I'll be allowed to stay, along with another roommate, but that the deadbeat must go. I want this person gone as well. If the roommate refuses to leave, how long could it take to get that person out? I've read the guide to California Tenants Rights, and understand the procedure, that is the writ of possession, the unlawful detainer lawsuit, etcetera. What I'm wondering is, from November 1st, how long could it take to make its way through the courts in Los Angeles, should the tenant not leave voluntarily by December 1st, at the end of the 30-Day Notice? Thanks.

It all depends on how much trouble the person can go to in order to fight the eviction. It's not unusual for the process to take 3-6 months and sometimes much longer if they fight the eviction in court using certain delaying tactics (I've heard of 18 months, but that was a very unusual situation). They don't even need an attorney to do it if they are knowledgeable of the legal process.

LL's case needs to be very strong, clear cut, and they can make no mistakes in their filing or following the legal process in order to cut it as short as possible. Hiring an attorney to initiate the court process would be recommended in order to carry the case through with a minimum of delays.

 

[JETX]

What I'm wondering is, from November 1st, how long could it take to make its way through the courts in Los Angeles, should the tenant not leave voluntarily by December 1st, at the end of the 30-Day Notice?

Simple answer.... no one can guess how long it MIGHT take without knowing the current docket load of the court, what tactics the tenant might try to pull, etc.
It could be as short as two weeks (if no defense offered), up to 4-6 weeks. Trust me, it will NOT take the "3-6 months" as GUESSED by the previous poster.

 

[sandyclaus]

Simple answer.... no one can guess how long it MIGHT take without knowing the current docket load of the court, what tactics the tenant might try to pull, etc.
It could be as short as two weeks (if no defense offered), up to 4-6 weeks. Trust me, it will NOT take the "3-6 months" as GUESSED by the previous poster.

No guessing involved. I've actually seen 3 individual cases personally that took 6 months, 7 months, and 9 months respectively. From what I gather, just filing a simple demurrer to the original filed complaint adds about a month to the court process. If there are ANY simple mistakes on that complaint, the demurrer can take the case back to the very start all over again (new notice, followed by new complaint, service time, etc.).

I'm giving OP a realistic point of view. If the notice is done correctly, the service done properly, and a relatively (legally) flawless summons and complaint prepared & filed, with no objections from the tenant, a default can be issued within a week along with a writ of possession, and the sheriff's lockout occurs within the next 5-10 days. Ideal situation.

As explained before, a knowledgeable tenant can stretch their time to delay the situation and frustrate the "summary" nature of the process. Right or wrong, the system's imperfections can slow the usually speedy process down. And YES, it truly can be several months (in a pretty open & shut case, even) or more (if there are ANY significant imperfections in the LL's case). CA's overburdened systems & court process can add 35 days between filing and hearing of most motions in the case.

OP doesn't want this sugarcoated. They want the truth, and that's what I gave them.

 

[JETX]

No guessing involved. I've actually seen 3 individual cases personally that took 6 months, 7 months, and 9 months respectively.

OP doesn't want this sugarcoated. They want the truth, and that's what I gave them.

No sugarcoating??? You're correct..... you gave them the EXTREME.... far from the NORMAL time required.

I refer you to the following chart:
Eviction Procedure & Timeline - Landlord

Granted, it is a little out of date... but the basic PREMISE is still accurate.
This is the NORMAL time... not the months that you scream about.

Here are some other responses to this same question on other forums:
"It takes about 3 weeks. If you do not know what you are doing it is a good idea to hire a service. The going rate on an eviction is 600, but the judges will award you that in addition to rent, so you will eventually recover the funds."
How long does the eviction process take in California? - Yahoo! Answers

"It will take 2 weeks to 30 days, depending on if they object and know how to object. It does not take longer then a month in CA. Since you do not know the ropes, and a mess up means you have to start again at square one I recommend you hire an eviction company. All they do is fill out the forms and file them all day long, they have it down. The going rate for an eviction in CA is $600"
How long does it generally take to evict a tenant in the state of california? - Yahoo! Answers

Finally, look at the REAL time estimates from an attorney in Southern California. They are near the bottom ("GENERAL TIME FRAME FOR EVICTION CASES") of the following site:
california landlord guide to eviction process | Legalwiz.com