A California nonpayment eviction is an unlawful detainer — a summary court action with a strict sequence: a written notice, a waiting period counted in court days, a lawsuit, and a sheriff. Skip a step or count a day wrong and the case gets dismissed months in, which is why the timeline below matters more than any single rule in it.
This is general information for landlords, not legal advice, and BuildMyLease does not prepare eviction notices or court filings. Deadlines here are statutory minimums — real cases take longer — and city rules add requirements. Confirm the current rule and talk to a California landlord-tenant attorney before serving or filing.
Step 1 — The 3-day notice (that isn't really 3 days)
Once rent is due and unpaid, you may serve a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit under CCP § 1161(2) — but the three days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays. Serve on a Friday and the window realistically runs into the middle of the next week.
Content rules are strict: the notice must state the exact amount due (rent only, and only rent from the past 12 months), the name, phone, and address of the person to receive payment, and the days and hours payment can be made (or electronic/bank alternatives). Overstating the rent is fatal to the case. Service follows CCP § 1162(a): personal delivery, substituted service plus mail, or post-and-mail as a last resort.
Paying in full within the window cures — the pay-or-quit notice is a genuine alternative demand, not a formality.
Step 2 — Filing the unlawful detainer
If the window runs without payment, you file a verified unlawful detainer complaint in the superior court of the county where the property sits (CCP §§ 1166–1167).
The answer window doubled in 2025. Under AB 2347 (effective January 1, 2025), the tenant now has 10 court days — not the old 5 — to respond after service, plus 5 more if served by mail. Most older guides still say five; counting on that gets your default application rejected.
If the tenant doesn't answer, the clerk enters default, judgment for possession follows, and the writ issues immediately (CCP § 1169). If the tenant answers, either side can demand trial, which must be set no later than 20 days after the request (CCP § 1170.5(a)).
Step 3 — Judgment, writ, sheriff
A landlord judgment produces a writ of possession executed by the sheriff — never by you. The sheriff serves the writ and the occupants get 5 days to vacate before the lockout (CCP § 715.010(b)(2)).
Adding the statutory minimums: roughly 25–30 calendar days on the default path, and six to eight weeks contested — before real-world service delays and sheriff queues, which in Los Angeles County are substantial.
The traps that flip cases
Self-help is radioactive. Changing locks, shutting off utilities, or removing doors or belongings costs actual damages plus up to $100 per day (minimum $250) plus mandatory attorney's fees under Civ. Code § 789.3.
Just cause applies at 12 months. For AB 1482-covered tenancies, nonpayment is an at-fault just cause — but the lease needs the right disclosures, covered in our AB 1482 explainer.
Partial payments after the notice are dangerous. Accepting rent that covers a period after the notice expired risks waiving the notice under case law. Return post-notice partial payments or re-serve.
Retaliation has a 180-day window. Evicting within 180 days of a tenant's protected complaint invites a Civ. Code § 1942.5 defense with punitive damages of $100–$2,000 per act.
Los Angeles is its own jurisdiction
- LA City's just-cause ordinance bars a nonpayment eviction unless the amount owed exceeds one month of HUD fair market rent for the unit size (LAMC § 165.03), and every termination notice must be filed with the housing department within 3 business days of service — missing the filing is a tenant defense.
- Unincorporated LA County raised its own threshold to two months of fair market rent effective April 16, 2026.
- San Francisco, Oakland, and Santa Monica run comparable just-cause and rent-board regimes. If your rental is in a major city, check the city layer before serving anything.
Compare how the other 19 states we cover handle the same sequence on our eviction notice laws by state page.
Common mistakes
Counting calendar days. The 3-day window excludes weekends and judicial holidays; the 10-day answer window counts court days too.
Using a pre-2025 default checklist. AB 2347 doubled the response window; a default application filed on day 6 is premature.
Demanding more than rent. Late fees, utilities, and stale rent (beyond 12 months) don't belong in the notice — including them invalidates it.
Serving in an LA jurisdiction without the city steps. The threshold rules and the 3-business-day notice filing are independent grounds to lose.
The cheapest version of this process is the one you never run: a lease with the right grace period, late-fee terms, and AB 1482 disclosures prevents most of these disputes. Build a compliant California residential lease agreement — $29 one-time, generated in minutes, with the statutory disclosures built in.
Statutory references
- CCP § 1161(2) — 3-day notice to pay rent or quit; court-day counting; 12-month rent limit; content requirements. Official text
- CCP § 1162(a) — service methods for the notice.
- CCP § 1167 (as amended by AB 2347, eff. Jan. 1, 2025) — 10-court-day response window.
- CCP § 1169 — default: judgment and immediate writ.
- CCP § 1170.5(a) — trial within 20 days of the request to set.
- CCP § 715.010(b)(2) — sheriff execution; 5 days from service of the writ.
- Civ. Code § 789.3 — self-help penalties. Civ. Code § 1942.5 — retaliation.
- Civ. Code § 1946.2 — statewide just cause (AB 1482). LAMC §§ 165.03, 165.05 — LA City threshold and notice-filing rules.