Real Estate Law Blog
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What Should You Bring to Your First Meeting with Your Tenant Attorney?
You have a dispute with your landlord about housing code violations in your home. You speak to him about it, and then, when he doesn’t respond, you are frustrated. You write him a letter about the matter, and still it is not resolved. You are upset, and now you’ve made an appointment with a lawyer who concentrates in tenant rights.
What happens before your trial for unlawful detainer (eviction)?
You are served with a Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. You fail pay the rent within the three days stated on the notice. Then you are served with legal papers-a summon and complaint and other papers commanding to file a response within five calendar (not business) days. You file a response. What happens next?
What happens during your trial for unlawful detainer (eviction)?
In a typical trial for unlawful detainer, the landlord must establish the elements of her case. These elements include the existence of the landlord-tenant relationship, termination of the relationship, i.e., by properly serving a Three-Day Notice to the tenant, and the tenant being in possession of the premises after the notice expired.
Why you might consider a lis pendens during litigation
Lis pendens is Latin for “suit pending.” A lis pendens is a notice in the recorder’s office that is placed on the title of a house or piece of land. Recording a lis pendens gives potential buyers constructive notice that litigation involving the real property is underway. Until litigation is concluded or the lis pendens is removed, title to the property is “clouded.” As courts have noted, a lis pendens has the potential “to pour sand into the smooth gears of a real estate transaction.”
What to bring to your first meeting with an attorney
You have a dispute with your landlord. You have written letters but it has not been resolved. You made an appointment with a lawyer who concentrates in tenant matters. What do you do before the appointment?
When can you sue your landlord for not moving into your home?
What happens if your San Francisco landlord gives you a notice of an owner move-in, but then does not move into your home and live there in good faith for at least 36 months? You can sue your landlord for wrongful eviction, among other causes of action in San Francisco Superior Court.
What does the landlord have to prove in an eviction trial for nonpayment of rent?
The landlord must prove she owns the property, the landlord rented the apartment to the tenant, under the lease the tenant was supposed to pay a certain amount of money in rent, the landlord gave the tenant a three-day notice to pay the rent, at least the amount stated in the three-day notice was due […]
What is “reasonable diligence” of service of legal papers in an unlawful detainer?
California law states that service of a summons and complaint can be accomplished by posting the papers on the tenant’s property, usually the front door, and by mailing a certified copy to the tenant. The court of appeal recently decided a case regarding service of an unlawful detainer by ‘nailing and mailing.’ The tenant rented […]
You have a right to a jury trial in an unlawful detainer (eviction) even with a fee waiver
A recent Los Angeles case reaffirms that a person who files a demand for a jury trial in an unlawful detainer (eviction) action is entitled to a trial by jury even if that person filed a fee waiver. Elva Silva’s landlord filed an unlawful detainer against her. Ms. Silva filed her answer, a demand for […]
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Mary Catherine Wiederhold
Real Estate Attorney
1458 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 533-0735
(415) 843-0496Our offices are conveniently accessible to public transportation.
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