Eviction and Landlord-Tenant Attorneys for Bay Area Property Owners
We are eviction attorneys for landlords and property owners — if you own rental property in the Bay Area and a tenant has stopped paying, stopped complying, or started threatening, this page is for you.
You know the math already. A tenant three months in arrears on a Bay Area unit isn't a paperwork problem — it's thousands of dollars bleeding out every month. Meanwhile, the rules keep shifting under you: state law, county rules, and city ordinances that can each change what notice you serve and whether you can evict at all.
One wrong notice can restart the entire process. That's why landlords call us first.
For Landlords, By Design
Danfoura Law Group represents the ownership side of landlord-tenant law: landlords, rental property owners, and investors. We do not handle tenant-side defense.
Why does that matter to you? Because most of the "eviction attorney" results you'll find are tenant defense firms and legal aid organizations. You need counsel whose entire practice posture — from notice drafting to courtroom strategy — is built around protecting rental income and property rights. Ours is.
And because we've spent nearly two decades as a landlord attorney practice, we know the opposing playbook cold: the habitability counterclaim, the procedural challenge to your notice, the delay tactics that stretch a six-week case into six months. Knowing what's coming is how we plan around it — before it costs you another month of rent.
What We Handle
Unlawful detainer (eviction) actions
From notice through judgment, writ of possession, and sheriff lockout, in all six Bay Area counties' courts.
Notices
The right notice, served the right way — including 3-day notices for nonpayment and 60-day and other termination notices where the law allows. Notice defects are the number-one reason eviction cases get dismissed, so we get this step right the first time.
Habitability defense response
When a nonpaying tenant answers with habitability claims — the most common counterattack — we respond with documentation strategy and litigation experience, not panic.
Rent recovery
Possession is half the job. We pursue money judgments for unpaid rent and, where realistic, collect them.
Lease drafting and enforcement
The strongest eviction case is written into the lease years earlier. We draft and update leases that hold up in your city, under your county's rules.
Rent-control and just-cause compliance
AB 1482, the statewide Tenant Protection Act, caps many rent increases and requires just cause for many terminations — and stricter local ordinances layer on top of it in several Bay Area cities. We keep your increases, notices, and terminations compliant before they're challenged.
Eviction Isn't the Same in Every County
Patricia in San Mateo and a landlord in Oakland are playing two different games. Court practices, local ordinances, and timelines differ across the Bay Area — and we practice in all six counties:
- San Francisco County. The strictest local landscape we work in: local rent control and just-cause rules sit on top of state law, and procedural precision matters most here.
- San Mateo County. Our home county. City-by-city variation is the trap here — requirements can change from one town to the next.
- Alameda County. Several cities carry their own rent and eviction ordinances beyond state law; Oakland and Berkeley landlords face the county's most layered rules.
- Contra Costa County. A mix of state-law cities and cities with newer local protections — the first question is always which regime your property sits in.
- Solano County. Generally state-law territory, where AB 1482 compliance is usually the controlling framework.
- Santa Clara County. Home to local ordinances in San Jose and others; tech-market rents make each month of delay especially expensive here.
Whichever county your property is in, we've handled matters in its courts. County pages with full local detail are coming; until then, call and we'll tell you exactly which rules govern your building.
The Four Problems Landlords Bring Us
Clients typically come to us for evictions, wrongful rent increase claims, habitability disputes, and lease enforcement. Behind those four problems are three kinds of help:
- Transactional help. Leases, addenda, notices, and rent-increase paperwork done correctly — so the dispute never starts.
- Litigation support. Unlawful detainers, habitability defense response, and money judgments when the dispute is already here.
- Risk mitigation planning.
A portfolio-level review of your leases, your entities, and your compliance exposure — so the next tenant problem is smaller than this one.
Most firms only sell the second one. We think the first and third are where landlords actually make their money back.
And when a tenant dispute grows into something bigger — a property damage claim, a co-owner conflict, an HOA fight over your rental condo — our real estate litigation and HOA dispute attorneys take it from there, inside the same firm.
Our Process — and Honest Timeline Expectations
- Assess and notice. We confirm which laws govern your unit, choose the right notice, and serve it correctly. Days matter here; mistakes cost weeks.
- File the unlawful detainer. If the tenant doesn't cure or leave, we file the complaint and have the tenant served with the summons. Expect the tenant to respond: tenants may file an answer contesting the case, which sends it toward trial on a priority calendar. If no answer is filed within the deadline, we ask the court for a default judgment. Real-world timelines depend on the county, the court's calendar, and whether the tenant contests.
- Judgment, writ, and lockout. After judgment, the sheriff — not you — restores possession through the writ process. We then advise on pursuing the money judgment.
We will not quote you a fantasy timeline to win your business. What we will do is tell you the realistic range for your county on day one, and then fight to land at the fast end of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an unlawful detainer?
An unlawful detainer is the California court process for evicting a tenant. A landlord files an unlawful detainer lawsuit in superior court after a required notice expires, and a judgment for the landlord leads to a writ of possession enforced by the county sheriff. Self-help evictions — changing locks, removing a tenant's belongings, or shutting off utilities — are illegal in California and can expose a landlord to penalties and a tenant lawsuit.
In other words: "unlawful detainer" is just the legal name for the eviction case itself — and it's the only lawful path to regaining possession of your unit. However frustrating the tenant, don't touch the locks. Call us instead.
How long does an eviction take in the Bay Area?
An uncontested unlawful detainer moves fastest; a contested case with a trial takes considerably longer, and timelines vary meaningfully across the six Bay Area counties' courts.
The bigger truth: the fastest evictions are the ones with no notice errors and no procedural gaps. That's the part you can control by getting counsel involved before the notice goes out — not after it bounces.
What notice do I serve for nonpayment of rent in California?
In California, a landlord begins a nonpayment eviction by serving the tenant a written 3-day notice to pay rent or quit. The notice must state the exact amount owed and comply with statutory content and service requirements; an error in the notice can invalidate the entire unlawful detainer case.
This is the step where do-it-yourself evictions die. Have us prepare and serve the notice — it's the cheapest insurance in the entire process.
Can I evict for an owner move-in?
Sometimes — it depends on where your property is and which rules cover it. Owner move-in is a "no-fault" termination: the tenant did nothing wrong, which is exactly why the law attaches extra conditions. It can qualify as just cause under state law, but AB 1482 and many local ordinances impose specific requirements, and some cities add relocation payment obligations.
Because a defective owner move-in eviction can expose you to serious liability, this is one to plan with counsel before you serve anything.
After This Tenant: Protect the Whole Portfolio
Solving today's eviction is step one. Step two is the question most landlords put off: what happens to these properties when something happens to you?
Our estate planning attorneys help Bay Area property owners structure their portfolios — the right entities, the right trust, the right succession plan — so your rentals pass to the next generation as income, not litigation. Fix this dispute. Then plan the portfolio's future. One firm for both.
Also selling a unit to your tenant? Ask about our attorney-led property sales — no broker required.
