Follow a California unlawful detainer case stage by stage — switch between the landlord’s and the tenant’s side to see that side’s deadlines and next steps.
An unlawful detainer — the formal name for an eviction case in California — runs through a fixed sequence of stages, each with its own deadline. Which stage you are at determines what document is due next and who is on the clock. This timeline lays out that sequence from both sides of the case.
Use the toggle to switch between the landlord's view, which follows the case from notice through Sheriff lockout, and the tenant's view, which centers on the response deadline that most often decides the outcome. Every date shown is a general range under California law and current Los Angeles County court practice, not a prediction for a specific case.
It varies widely. The notice period alone runs 3 to 90 days depending on the notice type, the tenant then has 10 court days to respond once served with the complaint (AB 2347), and contested cases add hearing time on the court's calendar. Sheriff lockout scheduling after judgment is on the Sheriff's own timeline. An uncontested case commonly runs several weeks; a contested one can run considerably longer.
Ten court days from the date of service, under AB 2347, effective January 1, 2025. This replaced the older five-day window. Court days exclude weekends and court holidays. Missing the deadline can result in a default judgment.
The notice period is the time the tenant has to comply or move out before any court case is filed, and it is set by the notice type: 3-day, 30-day, 60-day, or 90-day. The response deadline is separate and comes later: it is the 10 court days a tenant has to file a response after being served with the Unlawful Detainer complaint.
No. Los Angeles Paralegals is a registered Legal Document Assistant, not a law firm. I prepare eviction documents at your direction and cannot give legal advice, choose your legal strategy, or appear in court for you. Contested court appearances are referred to our attorney network.
I prepare landlord-side eviction packages for a flat $500, and tenant-side responses for a flat $400 — whichever responsive document applies to your situation.
You have the estimate — now let us prepare the paperwork. Free consultation, flat-rate pricing, and update requests answered within 24 hours.
You may not have to pay the court filing fee — ask us and we will tell you in about five minutes whether you qualify.