Only a sheriff can put you out. Not your landlord.

What a legal eviction actually looks like

There is exactly one lawful way to remove a residential tenant in California, and it runs through a courthouse.

1. The landlord serves a written notice — and, for most tenancies, must state a just cause for ending the tenancy.
2. If you do not leave, the landlord files an unlawful detainer lawsuit.
3. You are served, and you have the right to respond and be heard.
4. Only if the landlord wins does the court issue a writ of possession.
5. Only the sheriff executes that writ.

Anything else — a lock swapped while you were at work, a padlock on the gate, the power cut, the front door removed, your furniture in the alley — is a self-help eviction, and California treats it as a serious wrong.

Civil Code § 789.3: the lockout and utility statute

Section 789.3 is the statute most of these cases are built on. It prohibits a landlord, acting with intent to terminate your occupancy, from willfully:

• Interrupting or terminating any utility service — water, heat, light, electricity, gas, telephone, elevator, refrigeration — whether or not the utility is in the landlord’s name;
• Preventing you from getting into your home by changing the locks, using a bootlock, or any similar device;
• Removing outside doors or windows;
• Removing your personal property or furnishings without your prior written consent.

Two honest caveats. The $100 per day is a ceiling the court works within, not a rate you are guaranteed; and the $250 minimum attaches per cause of action, not per day. Anyone promising you a fixed daily number is overselling the statute.

Pressure, threats, and immigration — Civil Code § 1940.2

Some landlords never touch the locks. They make staying unbearable instead. Civil Code § 1940.2 makes it unlawful, for the purpose of influencing a tenant to vacate, to:

• Commit theft or extortion;
• Use or threaten force, willful threats, or menacing conduct amounting to a course of conduct that interferes with your quiet enjoyment — and you do not have to actually move out to have a claim;
• Significantly and intentionally violate the entry rules in Civil Code § 1954;
• Threaten to disclose information about the immigration or citizenship status of a tenant, an occupant, or anyone the landlord knows is connected to them.

A tenant who prevails can recover a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation — including in small claims court. Note that this is a ceiling set by the court, and § 1940.2 has no fee provision of its own, so fees have to come from the lease or another claim in the case.

Forcible entry, treble damages, and the criminal side

Beyond § 789.3, a lockout can be a forcible entry or forcible detainer under Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1159 and 1160 — breaking in, or using force, threats, or menacing conduct to turn out the person in possession. Where that is proven, Code of Civil Procedure § 735 provides that judgment may be entered for three times the actual damages. Trebling is discretionary, and it multiplies actual damages only.

There is also a criminal dimension people rarely know about. Penal Code § 418 makes it a misdemeanor to use force or violence to enter or detain the property of another outside the manner allowed by law. In July 2022 the California Attorney General issued guidance directing law enforcement not to assist landlords in self-help evictions and to instruct them to restore the tenant’s access. If you are standing outside your own front door, that guidance is worth knowing about.

Just cause, relocation money, and the owner move-in trap

The Tenant Protection Act (Civ. Code § 1946.2) requires just cause to terminate most tenancies after 12 months of continuous occupancy, and the ground must be stated in the written notice. It remains in effect until January 1, 2030.

Owner move-in. If your landlord evicted you so a family member could move in, and that person never moves in within 90 days or does not stay 12 consecutive months, the owner must re-offer you the unit at your old rent and reimburse your moving expenses. Where the stated reason was a pretext, Clark v. Mazgani (2009) 170 Cal.App.4th 1281 supports a damages claim.

Section 1946.2 also carries its own private right of action: actual damages, fees at the court’s discretion, and up to three times actual damages where the owner acted willfully or with oppression, fraud, or malice.

If your home is in the City of Los Angeles

Los Angeles gives tenants a remedy that is, in a real sense, stronger than state law. The Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance (LAMC §§ 45.30–45.35), amended effective December 29, 2024, enumerates fourteen categories of harassing conduct and provides that a prevailing tenant shall be awarded three times compensatory damages, including damages for mental or emotional distress, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

On top of that: civil penalties of up to $10,000 and not less than $2,000 per violation, an additional up to $5,000 per violation where the tenant is over 65 or disabled, punitive damages, and injunctive relief. The limitations period is three years.

One correction to something you will read elsewhere: the Rent Stabilization Ordinance’s treble-damages provision, LAMC § 151.10, applies to rent overcharges — it does not by its terms cover wrongful eviction. The RSO does separately make a landlord liable for unpaid relocation assistance under § 151.09(H).

Unincorporated Los Angeles County has its own anti-harassment provisions with civil penalties and enhanced penalties for tenants 62 and older or disabled. Which body of law applies depends on your exact address, and it is one of the first things we check.

“Cash for keys” is regulated in Los Angeles

There is no statewide buyout statute, but the City of Los Angeles runs a Tenant Buyout Notification Program (LAMC § 151.31). Before making any buyout offer, the landlord must serve an LAHD-form disclosure. The agreement must be in your primary language and carry a 12-point bold cancellation notice. You may cancel within 30 days for any reason. The landlord must file the paperwork with LAHD within 60 days. If the landlord skipped these steps, that is an affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer and supports a claim for damages plus a $500 penalty.

If someone is waving a check at you and pressing you to sign today, that pressure is itself information. Call us before you sign.

Locked out right now? Do this.

1. Do not break in. It muddies a clean claim and can put you at risk.
2. Photograph everything — the new lock, the notice, the removed door, your property wherever it ended up. Timestamps matter.
3. Call the police and ask for a report. Reference Penal Code § 418 and the Attorney General’s July 2022 guidance on unlawful lockouts. Get the report number.
4. Text the landlord in writing that you are locked out and demanding restoration of access. Keep it short. Do not argue.
5. Write down the date and time the lockout started. Under § 789.3 the clock runs by the day.
6. Call us. Same day if you can. Emergency access can sometimes be restored quickly through the court.