Questions Irvine tenants ask us

Don't move out and don't ignore it. A 3-day notice to pay or quit must be accurate to the dollar and properly served, or it's defective. Many are. Contact an attorney immediately; the notice period is the landlord's step, not a court order.

Since January 1, 2025, a tenant served with an unlawful detainer complaint in California has 10 court days to file a written response. Miss the deadline and the landlord can win by default without a hearing. This deadline is short and strict.

In most California rentals, no. The Tenant Protection Act (Civil Code Section 1946.2) requires "just cause" for eviction after 12 months of tenancy, and no-fault evictions require relocation assistance equal to one month's rent. Many cities add stronger local protections.

Yes, for most rentals covered by the Tenant Protection Act: 5% plus local inflation, capped at 10% per year, with no more than two increases in a year. Many cities have stricter rent control. An increase above the cap is unenforceable.

California law requires landlords to keep rentals habitable (Civil Code Section 1941.1): working plumbing, heat, electricity, no mold or pests, secure doors. You can demand repairs in writing, and in some situations repair and deduct, withhold rent, or sue for damages. Document everything with photos and dated messages.

No. Civil Code Section 1942.5 prohibits eviction, rent increases, or reduced services in retaliation for complaints about habitability or code violations within 180 days. Retaliation is a defense to eviction and a basis for damages.

That's an illegal self-help eviction. Under Civil Code Section 789.3 the landlord owes actual damages plus up to $100 per day, and you can get a court order restoring possession. Call an attorney the same day.

Yes. Tenants living with mold, vermin, sewage, no heat, or unsafe conditions can sue for breach of the warranty of habitability, negligence, nuisance, and in serious cases punitive damages. These cases are often brought by multiple tenants in one building together.

Eviction (unlawful detainer) cases from Irvine are heard in Orange County Superior Court, most often at the Central Justice Center (Civil), 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701. The summons names the courthouse.

Get a defective notice or complaint dismissed, raise habitability and retaliation defenses, negotiate move-out terms with money and time instead of a judgment on your record, and pursue damages against a landlord who broke the law. An eviction judgment follows you for years; fighting it properly is worth it.

Common ones: the notice was defective or served wrong, the landlord accepted rent after the notice, the unit was uninhabitable and you withheld rent properly, the eviction is retaliation for a complaint, the landlord lacks just cause under the Tenant Protection Act, the rent increase behind the case exceeded the cap, or the landlord discriminated. Which ones apply depends on your paperwork, which is why we read every notice before filing an answer.

The court enters a judgment for possession and the sheriff posts a five-day notice to vacate; after that the sheriff can lock you out. A judgment can also include back rent and the landlord's costs. Even after a judgment, a stay or a negotiated move-out date is sometimes possible, and a tenant who was never properly served can move to set the judgment aside.

Yes. Tenants who lived with mold, vermin, sewage leaks, no heat, or unsafe wiring can recover rent paid for a unit that wasn't worth it, the cost of damaged property and medical care, and in serious cases punitive damages and attorney's fees. In Orange County we bring these cases for individual tenants and for whole buildings together.

Under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161.2, an unlawful detainer case is masked from the public court index unless the landlord wins within 60 days of filing. Defending the case, or settling it with a dismissal, keeps it off tenant-screening reports. A default judgment is what shows up for years.

If the unit is legally uninhabitable and the landlord fails to fix it within a reasonable time after written notice, California law treats the landlord as having broken the lease first, and you can move out without owing future rent (Civil Code Section 1942). Do it with documentation and, ideally, a lawyer's letter, because landlords routinely sue for the balance and the burden is on you to prove the conditions.