Why would you need to evict a tenant in Contra Costa County?
It could be because the tenant is not paying rent. Or, maybe it’s for a violation of the lease agreement which could include multiple reasons that would end in an eviction. Whatever your reasons for an eviction, there are specific laws and timelines that need to be followed. Attention to these details is critical. Even a small error could result in the entire process coming to a stop.
Starting the Tenant Eviction
To begin the eviction process, the property manager or the landlord would need to give the appropriate written notice to the tenant. This could come in the form of a Three Day Notice, a 30 Day Notice, or even a 60 Day Notice, depending on the reason for the eviction. Our process at A. Meadows Property Management is to communicate with the property owner once we serve the eviction notice and the allotted amount of time has passed. We want to touch base to see what you feel is the next best step. Our owners are always asked for their input about whether an actual eviction is the best action to take.
Taking Legal Action
When the owner and property manager agree to proceed with the eviction, it is the property manager’s job to contact the attorney. We work with professional lawyers who handle all of our legal issues, including evictions. At this point, the attorney would take the case to the courts and file a complaint. Once the complaint is served on the tenant occupying the property, the tenant then is given an allotted amount of time to respond or answer that complaint. Many times, the tenant leaves it alone and does not answer, and there is no need to go to court. But there are also times that the tenant will fight the eviction and then the owner, tenant, and property manager are all expected to show up in court.
Writ of Possession
The next legal action in the eviction process is the Writ of Possession. This is delivered to the sheriff’s department and once the sheriff has the Writ of Possession, they will schedule a lockout. The sheriff will also post a notice on the property making the tenant aware that a lockout will be happening on the property.
A specific amount of time is given to the tenant to move out voluntarily, and the tenant knows that on that day, the lockout will actually occur. Once that day and time has arrived, the sheriff will go in and perform the official Sheriff’s Lockout. After this step is completed, the owner or property manager regains possession of the property.
This is the first part of our blog series on evictions in Contra Costa County. Make sure you check out the next part, which will focus more on the laws of eviction and how to handle them. If you have any additional questions or concerns on how to begin the process, please feel free to reach out to us at A. Meadows Property Management.
