Sheriff’s Eviction

The Sheriff’s Eviction will be the final step to gain possession of your property. Once you have obtained the Writ of Possession you are almost done with a very lengthy and frustrating process of evicting a tenant in California. My first time doing an eviction I was shocked to find out that you must pay for the sheriff’s services to carry out the eviction. The fee was $125, but this will vary from county to county so be prepared for yet another expense. You will have to go to the sheriff’s department to pay the fee and show proof of the Writ of Possession. The sheriff will post a notice at the property informing the tenant that they have 5 days to vacate the premises. If the tenant does not leave within the five days the sheriff will meet you at the property and remove the tenant. Hopefully the tenant will realize that they will be forced to leave and will move voluntarily before the 5 days is up. Any property left behind by the tenant will need to be stored by the landlord for 2 weeks. During that time the landlord must try to contact the tenant to arrange for them to pick up their belongings. If the tenant does not respond then the landlord can keep, sale, or dispose of the tenant’s belongings.

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11 Comments

  1. I would just like to say “thank you”!! Your information was most helpful! I am a Manager of a 23-unit complex, and trying to save the owner as much as I can with this process. It is pretty complex and intimidating, and even though I love a challenge, I am still want to make sure I am doing it accurately the first time. Your step by step breakdown confirm some questions that I have.
    Thank you.
    Kelly

  2. I was given a 5 day Notice to Vacate from Sheriffs Dept in Pasadena, tommorrow will be my last day. I asked the court to let me stay, I have the rent money for the landlord entire amount. What can I do from here?

  3. Serena I am very sorry to hear about your circumstance. My experience is mostly that of a landlord carrying out an eviction on a tenant, never been on the other side before. I am pretty certain that once the writ of possession has been issued to the landlord and the Sheriff’s notice to vacate has been posted that it is too late to make payment even if you have the full amount. If you are still trying to stay in the property you may want to seek out legal advice. There are some free resources available to tenants, but I am not too familiar with them. Best of luck to you.

  4. My tenant recived the 5 days to vacate the premises,she left 3 days ago, and took the keys with her,and also left some items supposedly she said,she would come later in the afternon,but she never came back,and the sheriff never appeared.
    What action can I take in this situation?,it’s weird not receiving a notification or something!!!

  5. My situation is a little different. We were given the Writ of Possession and the tenant returned the keys before the lock out was done. But, she hasn’t left the property, she’s staying next door with another tenant. What, if anything, can I do?Is a Writ of Possession only for them to leave the unit or do they have to leave the property?

  6. Do you own the entire building or just the unit the tenant was staying in? The writ of possession only returns possession of the unit that was specified in your lease agreement. I dont think there is much you can do about the tenant moving in with the neighbors. Unless the neighbors are also your tenants and you have something specified in their lease regarding who occupies that unit or subletting.

  7. I received a notice from the LA county sherriff department shortly after my court day and it says ordered to vacate no later than 10/21/13 I was told by someone that im supposed to receive a 5 day notice from the sherriff before they execute eviction is this true or not? I have moved the majority of my things out but don’t have anyone available to help me with the rest till wedenesday morning so I called the landlord and told her im doing everything I can to move everything out and I asked if she could please wait till Wednesday before she calls the sherriff and she told me they had called that morning on the day of 10/21/13. Is there anything I can do or should I be expecting the sherriff at my door this morning

  8. i have settled with the (Stipulated judgement) landlord in court with the paralegal however he asked me for $125 dollars now i know what it was for i agreed to move out by the date i am still searching for new place

    i feel like the paralegal took advantage of me he worked for the plaintiffs lawyer. is this legal ? the judgment agreement was never notarized and we all signed seperatly.

  9. My father has tenants he has been asking to leave the property for about 1 year now. He has hired a Property Management company to help with the eviction but they do not seem to understand the urgency to have them vacate. I will be helping my father with the process to save him some money and to make sure the process gets done as soon as possible. I have downloaded a 30 day eviction notice that we will present to the tenants but the timing of the note is what I’m confused about. My father wants to give them notice when they give him the rent for the next month. Will the 30 days run simultaneously with the last month paid? Should he not accept the rent money in order to serve them?

  10. Hi please help I rented a house with rats feces all over the attic and garage since i move in I got all kind of illnesses they recently dicover that I had a rat airborne illness I hired inspector and contact all the authority’s like vector control, code enforcement, departmendepartment of fair housing well I was absence the landlord enter the house without a notification and took my rent receipt personal documents and more he was aware about all this issues I call and send letters about the issue he denied everything he hired and attorney well i was sick and able to do anything after i send him a rent withhold untill he fix all the problem he fild a unlawful D, I was so sick that the last day i had to answer I fainted in court and they denied me the right to fild my answer after I try to stop the default and again they say no you can do that, later I fild and exparte I ask the clerk to attach the answer she said is not necessarily. On my court date the judge denied the exparte do to the answer not be attach he give me two weeks to move out , the sheriff had been notify after my whole family been sick discover that this house has asbefact, lead paint and the fact that the owner do not report the house as a rent income no court no fair and housing and code enforcement no one has has done anything what kind of rights as a tenant I have None?

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