Customer Reviews

Landlord's Law Book: Evictions: California (6th ed)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The California Landlord's Law Book: Evictions is a companion book that goes hand in hand with the Nolo title The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities. In fact, the opening chapters of the Evictions book repeatedly remind the reader to refer to Rights and Responsibilities, not for the purpose of selling more books, but because landlord/tenant law is best addressed with an overarching title, and if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having to evict a tenant, you can pick up the more specialized title on that topic.

I personally purchased the Evictions book when I had a non-paying roommate in my own home who refused to move out. I purchased this book after I had started the eviction process and seen the sheriff way too many times, and I cursed myself for not getting it earlier, because I found out that the law was more on my side that I had thought. Nolo taught me that the sheriff is often misinformed about the process of evicting a roomer (someone in a bedroom in your primary residence) versus that of evicting a tenant in a separate rental property. This book referred me to the relevant sections of the California civil code and penal code for situations with roomers.

The book and accompanying CD have all the California law forms needed for the eviction process, as well as instructions for deciphering the forms, which is a formidable task on one's own. Personally, the most important chapter in the book was the one that guided me though the unlawful detainer trial process. The author described in detail all the facets of a court hearing, the relevant players, the methods for addressing the judge, the order of events, and so on. I went into my trial with confidence because I knew what to expect and I knew how to prepare my case.

This book is well worth the cover price. The most important lesson to remember is that not following the unlawful detainer procedure precisely will lead to delays in resolving the issue (by getting rid of the tenant or getting them current on their rent). This title is one of the only ways, short of hiring legal help, that a lay person can ensure their documentation will be in order and the process will not be delayed any longer than necessary. Every landlord needs to own The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities, and the moment a tenant is late on rent or troublesome for other reasons, landlords need to buy The California Landlord's Law Book: Evictions.

Cons - missing information about delaying tactics the tenant may use (1 star)
Pros - very specific and detailed information and forms for evictions (5 stars)

I compared this book to two other Nolo books about landlord-tenant issues for California, and while this book is the most precise and detailed of the three about how to evict a problem tenant, it is still missing crucial information that is in yet another Nolo book.

This book has many details about (and forms for) meticulously doing an eviction, but it is missing a perspective about how to be an effective landlord and head off problems with tenants, and how you really want to avoid eviction lawsuits, which is covered better in Nolo's book _The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities_. In particular, _The California Landlord's Law Book_ points out that the real purpose of a "Three Day Notice" is to get a late paying tenant to pay up, not to actually evict them, which is a pain and will cost you much more in the long run. So if you are a landlord, get _The California Landlord's Law Book_ for the best overall perspective of how to be a great landlord (and perhaps also Nolo's _Every Landlord's Guide to Finding Great Tenants_).

But a serious problem is that a critical element is missing from this book: all the different legal responses a tenant can make to an eviction attempt, and how to avoid or deal with them. In Nolo's _California Tenant's Rights_, there is all sorts of information about how to legally quash an eviction suit, ways of delaying by demurrals and various kinds of information requests, etc. However, none of these legal tactics are detailed in this book, which is a a real problem: a book that claims to be a step-by-step handholding book for doing evictions should inform the landlord about these counters, and arm the landlord in advance to avoid them.

So if you actually need to do an eviction, you probably should get this book, but it is really important to also read the relevant sections in _California Tenant's Rights_ as well. Since each of the Nolo books I have mentioned is by the same group of authors, it is a puzzle why this critical-eviction fighting information is lacking from this book, whose only topic is evictions.

I have long been a fan of Nolo Press books, in the belief that intelligent and diligent people should be empowered to handle some of their basic legal needs without having to hire a high-priced attorney for every little thing. My husband and I have used other Nolo books through the years, and have only learned about one mistake in the books along the way, but then again, the wills and more that we created with the help of Nolo books have never had to stand up to a legal challenge. The numerous flaws in Nolo's Evictions book and CD have caused us to worry about the quality of the other Nolo books, and the mistakes they may contain that we may not learn about until too late.

My husband and I turned to the Nolo Evictions book for guidance through the unfamiliar process of evicting nonpaying tenants. The book has been better than nothing, but still just a mixed blessing because even the latest 2011 edition was carelessly edited and only partially updated. It and the accompanying CD contain numerous errors, some of which are serious enough that they could cost you your case against your tenant if the tenant files a response to your Unlawful Detainer Complaint. And the tenant can fight more easily than you can, because there are all kinds of free legal help available to tenants that the landlords can't get, even though the deadbeat tenant may be making more income than the landlord!

The 2011 CD that accompanies the book, for example, still has the 2004 edition of a required Summons form, even though that form was revised in 2009. The information required is the same on both versions, but a Placer County court clerk rejected the older form when my husband tried to submit it. The book shows the correct form, but the CD does not have it. The CD's ReadMe file also refers to information at the end of the file that is not actually there, and the link you are supposed to use for registering the software online is missing too. Nolo advises registering your software so you can get update info. and corrections from Nolo. How ironic. You can still fax in the paperwork, which I did, but I got no response or acknowledgment or updates. Of course, there's no guarantee the fax number was correct, either.)

In section after section of the book, the detailed instructions tell you to mark one thing, and that it could damage your case not to do exactly so, but then the sample form illustrating that concept shows something else marked. After digging up a phone number for Nolo, the representative finally directed to a Web site that had some of the updated forms and information, but only some.

So often, the book's errors leave you unsure what to do, or if what you have guessed you should do will prove to be acceptable to a judge. Time after time, the book's detailed directions tell you to do this or that on item 2E (for example) of this particular form, then you look at the form and the item number does not exist, nor anything even like it. If this happened once or twice, it would be annoying but forgiveable. But it occurs over and over again, to the point where I want to return the book and CD to Amazon and get a refund. Why did I bother with the 2011 edition? It's no better than the 2009 one, which had many of the same errors.

The self-help area in my local court house has offered some assistance, but each time a long wait is involved, and many hours of missed job time. And the law students who volunteer there have already warned that they do not assist at all with the monetary judgment portion of the process, which we have to do once the tenants are formally evicted by the sheriff. Given the questionable accuracy of the book so far, it is scary to be left now entirely at the mercy of this book's author and his shoddy editors. Had we known all that would be involved in this, alas, my husband and I probably would have hired a lawyer after all.

I have been a landlord for many years and this book has saved me hundreds of dollars in legal fees and an untold number of headaches. Evictions are a tricky thing and this book really simplifies the process for you.

The book explains everything that the law requires you to do to properly remove a tenant: when to take certain steps, how to fill out the forms, how many copies to make, how to file them in court, and how to serve them to your tenant. The CD provides good template forms to start with, but better PDF versions are available online at various websites.

This book is a MUST for all investment property owners in California.

Nearly every landlord at some time will be faced with the unhappy task of requiring a tenant to vacate his rental. When I first purchased rental property, I inherited some tenants who were either unable or unwilling to pay their rent. The ones who were simply poor, but were still trying to pay, I could accommodate with payment arrangements and work for rent. The others had to be evicted through the courts using the Unlawful Detainer process. I had an early edition of this book, and using copies of the forms included in the book, I would literally carry my portable typewriter to the courthouse and fill out the forms right there, so the court clerk could inspect them and I could correct them if necessary. Times have changed, and the laws are much more complicated. My city now has extremely complex rent and eviction controls, and, if faced with the necessity of removing a tenant, I would probably turn to a lawyer. However, I still would not be without this book, which describes every step of the process, including warnings about pitfalls to avoid. Property owners in California , especially areas without rent and property controls, can study the examples, decide upon a course of action, create the necessary forms from the included CD-Rom, and complete the process in most cases. The book recommends hiring an attorney for certain situations, which occur in a small number of evictions.

I am now very active in a rental property owners organization. We frequently receive questions from owners facing typical landlord questions, and I ALWAYS recommend that they buy The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities. If they are facing removing a tenant, I tell them to buy this "Evictions" book and read all the pertinent sections before proceeding. The regulations are constantly changing, so I'm glad to see this latest edition, and the accompanying website information that posts even more help, most of it at no charge. For landlords, these two related books are as important as having a good plumber!

I completely recommend this book to anyone that is a landlord; it was a life saver for me. Buy it before you need it and educate yourself; it is worth having the book around! This book walks you through the entire Eviction process, shows you examples of the court documents in which you will need to proceed with the eviction, and gives you prime examples of different situations. The California court system "help" offices WILL NOT help landlords, only tenants. The attorney working the help office said, "Landlords have more resources available to them," which is why they will not help. The attorney is the one that recommended this book to me though, and it truly walked me through the entire process with ease and less stress.

I got this book due to having become a reluctant landlord, having moved to a new home before being able to sell the old one, which is now rented.
I haven't had the displeasure of having to evict anyone yet, fortunately, but wanted to be prepared.
This very current book helps me clearly understand all the intricacies of California law regarding evictions.
Topics are detailed, and easy to understand - not written in legalese. The sample forms and notices are very useful also.

Overall, I was generally impressed with this book, and it upholds the strong and excellent tradition of all Nolo Press books. The book is very good at telling the newbie landlord what to do, how to do it and when to do it, when it comes to the eviction process. It is also very good at explaining the different types of evictions (nuisance, reversion of property tenancy to owner and the more usual non-payment of rent). Most helpful was the handy timeline and checklist of things to do, steps to take, and necessary documentation required for eviction.

Readers should be forewarned about a couple of things. First, this is a book that is exclusively about how to undertake evictions in the State of California (though it says so in the title, please do not make the mistake of trying to use this book as a general template for evictions). Second, newbie landlords in California should work with a good real estate attorney when doing their first few evictions. Seasoned landlords can literally go through the motions in their sleep, but this is inadvisable for those just starting out. Finally, be forewarned that California is a very strong tenants-rights state, and some localities, such as Berkeley, California, put their own spin on evictions.

Other than this, the book does a good job of covering the legal basics for evictions in California. In passing, I also recommend that aspiring landlords join their local chapter of the rental housing association in order to get good insight on handling evictions and other tenant relations.

As always, caveat emptor. Good luck, and good hunting!

Many Landlords have attempted evictions without sufficient knowledge to their detriment. The law is STRICT with Landlords in the area of evictions, legally favoring the tenant. Therefore it behooves a landlord to be aware of the strictness and educate him/herself with a book such as this. Evictions of problem tenants are somewhat complex. This Do-it-Yourself Manual for California Landlords provides solid information -- it's like having a friendly attorney guiding you in this step-by-step guide to eviction of problem tenants. TOPICS: how cities with Rent Control handle evictions, how to handle foreclosed rental property tenants, bankrupt tenants etc. Useful Checklists are included. The author is candid & will recommend consultation with an attorney if the situation merits it. But many procedures can be initiated by the Landlord on his own. CD-Rom contains legal document you need for printing.

In the past my family had a real difficult time w/ evicting a bad tenant that refused to pay rent and wrecked the property, and the process dragged on for almost a year before we could get them officially evicted. I wish we had used this book back then, but this is a great book to prepare for that type of scenario again. It has easy step by step insturctions w/ forms included on a CD.

Evictions are truly a nightmare to handle on your own, so I highly recommend this book so that the process can be simplified w/o being bombarded w/ legal definitions and terminology.