Hi, I rented my house to a family as of August of this year. They have signed a 1 year lease, however I REALLY REALLY want to move back into my house. I'm not crazy about the tennants and this whole situation one bit.

Is there any way I can evict them lawfully?? It's not to bring in new tennants, but it's my house and I want to live in it. Please help me somebody.

Do you have a written lease with them? If so read through it thoroughly. Also read through your state's LL/tenant laws (see link in the first post of this forum). Make a list of any lease terms/laws that the tenants are in violation of. You can basically evict for non-payment of rent or for other types of lease violations. Depending on the severity of the violations, a judge may just order them to correct the violations (and you have to give them notice to correct them before you can even file for the eviction.)

You could also attempt to negotiate with them. Money talks. You may be able to "buy" them out of their lease.

Also, another frequent poster on this site recently suggested that some states allow for landlords to break leases if the reason is to move back into their own property themselves. I've never heard of that, but if it's true in your area you should be able to find it in your state's laws.

Karla in TX

Hi Karla, thanks for your response. The link to CA does not work on the page you mentioned... that's the type of info I'm looking for - straight up CA law from the source but it's so impossible to find it online. You either have to purchase books which I don't know which would be the best and up to date, or contact an attorney for who knows how much fees that will add up...

The written lease clearly states that they are to stay for 12 months however I really want to move back into my own house considering they pressured me out of it and it's just not working out for me away from my house. They're not in violation of any terms - they basically pay the rent however they are a bit demanding with a few things and have not reimbursed for some items I installed out of my own pocket for them which was not in the terms at their request however I highly doubt that would be grounds for eviction.

I did read on a forum that in CA a landlord can evict if they are moving back into their house, however I want the actual source for it but I'm surprised and troubled at how complicated it is to find such public info! It's like you have to go through a barrage of attorneys to get access to it or something.

I called the housing department, who told me to call consumer affairs for housing since it is a single unit rental, and even they to my surprise gave me a number to a law firm to get my questions answered. Where the heck can I find the laws myself?

Try this: Los Angeles Housing Department - RSO Publications and Forms