I am the tenant of a rental house in California. I rented the house to an 81 year old woman, and her daughter. She then invited her son to live with them, and since it is a 3 bedroom home, I had no objection. The son is engaging in what we have observed to be illegal activity (bringing prostitutes into the house when mom is away), and we have asked him to vacate the home. He is not on the contract and has never paid us a dime. Can I keep the renter and evict the occupant?

What? You are the tenant and you sublet to another person who is living in the house with her son?

I'm not sure I understand the circumstances.

Is this a written lease, something else?

Sorry... I am the LANDLORD. (brain freeze).

... Can I keep the renter and evict the occupant?

Possibly.

An action for eviction is actually called an action for "forceable entry and detainer". Such an action is described in California Civil Procedure Code Section 1161"


"A tenant of real property, for a term less than life, or the
executor or administrator of his or her estate heretofore qualified
and now acting or hereafter to be qualified and act, is guilty of
unlawful detainer:
...
3. When he or she continues in possession, in person or by
subtenant, after a neglect or failure to perform other conditions or
covenants of the lease or agreement under which the property is held,
including any covenant not to assign or sublet, than the one for the
payment of rent, and three days' notice, in writing, requiring the
performance of such conditions or covenants, or the possession of the
property, shall have been served upon him or her, and if there is a
subtenant in actual occupation of the premises, also, upon the
subtenant. Within three days after the service of the notice, the
tenant, or any subtenant in actual occupation of the premises, or any
mortgagee of the term, or other person interested in its
continuance, may perform the conditions or covenants of the lease or
pay the stipulated rent, as the case may be, and thereby save the
lease from forfeiture; provided, if the conditions and covenants of
the lease, violated by the lessee, cannot afterward be performed,
then no notice, as last prescribed herein, need be given to the
lessee or his or her subtenant, demanding the performance of the
violated conditions or covenants of the lease.
..." WAIS Document Retrieval (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=07342011873+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve)

The sublease appears to have been ratified by you, so probably would not be an unlawful detainer. However one of the "other conditions or covenants of the lease" might be the condition not to engage in unlawful activity in the premises.

So, as I read it, you could serve the tenant and the subtenant with a 3-day notice, giving them that amount of time for the subtenant to leave. If the subtenant does leave, you would still have the tenant.

If, however, they fail to abide by the notice, I believe you would have to evict all of them.

Hello d:

Couple things.. You don't have a business relationship with the son. You have one with the mother. Therefore, if you evict anyone, you need to evict them ALL.

Next. How do you know the women he brings over are prostitutes?? In fact, how do you know that he brings women over at all? Why is his bringing women over a problem for you? Does the lease give you rights over who visits??

Personally, I HATE snoopy landlords.

excon