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Published July 15, 2026
In California, changing locks or cutting utilities on a tenant is illegal even if they owe rent. The only lawful path is unlawful detainer in court.
Even when a tenant has stopped paying rent, refuses to leave, or was never authorized to be there in the first place, a California owner cannot change the locks, remove the doors, shut off the utilities, or haul out belongings. Doing any of that is a crime under Penal Code section 418 and exposes you to the tenant's actual damages plus a statutory penalty of up to 100 dollars a day, with a minimum award of 250 dollars, under Civil Code section 789.3. The only lawful way to remove someone is an unlawful detainer action in court.
It feels obvious. It is your property, the person occupying it has no right to be there, so why not just lock them out? California does not see it that way, and neither do most other states. Penal Code section 418 makes it a misdemeanor to use force to enter or detain land, and courts have long treated a lockout, even a quiet one with no confrontation, as a form of forcible detainer. You do not need to break a window or raise your voice. Rekeying the door while the occupant is at work is enough to expose you.
Civil Code section 789.3 spells out exactly what you cannot do to force someone out: change or add locks, remove doors or windows, remove the tenant's personal property, or cut off utility service such as water, gas, electricity, or heat. A landlord who violates this owes the tenant a penalty of up to 100 dollars for every day the violation continues, never less than 250 dollars per violation, plus the tenant's actual damages (a hotel bill, spoiled groceries, missed work) and attorney's fees. Those fees add up fast, often faster than months of unpaid rent would have cost you.
If someone will not leave, whether they are a holdover tenant whose lease ended, a tenant who has stopped paying, or an unauthorized occupant, the process is the same: serve the appropriate notice (a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit, a 3-day notice to perform or quit, or a 30/60-day notice depending on the situation), then, if they still do not leave, file an unlawful detainer lawsuit. Only after a judge issues a judgment and the sheriff physically restores possession can you legally reenter and change the locks. It is slower than you would like. It is also the only version of this that does not end with you writing the tenant a check.
A true trespasser, someone who broke in and has no rental agreement or history of paying rent, can sometimes be removed by local police as a criminal trespass matter, particularly if you catch it early and can show they never had permission to be there. But once someone has been occupying a unit for any length of time, especially if they have received mail there, paid any money toward rent or utilities, or otherwise built up the appearance of tenancy, police routinely decline to intervene and tell owners it is a civil matter. That pushes you back into unlawful detainer court regardless of how the person got in.
Owners sometimes panic that a squatter can become the legal owner after some number of months. That is not how it works in California. To gain title through adverse possession, a claimant must prove open, hostile, continuous possession for a full five years, and, critically, that they personally paid every state, county, and municipal property tax assessed on the parcel for that entire five-year period, verified by certified county tax records, under Code of Civil Procedure section 325. In practice, almost no squatter pays your property taxes for five straight years. As long as you keep paying your own tax bill and take action well before the five-year mark, adverse possession is not a realistic threat. It is a scare word, not a deadline you need to lose sleep over.
No matter how justified it feels, do not touch the locks, the doors, or the utilities yourself. The moment you do, the legal and financial exposure shifts from the occupant to you. Document the situation, serve the correct notice, and if it is not resolved, go straight to unlawful detainer. It is the only door that does not swing back and hit you with statutory damages.
If you would rather not manage notices, court filings, and sheriff coordination while also worrying about getting the sequence exactly right, that is what we do for our owners every day.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with a licensed professional before you act.
Last verified: July 2026.
Topics: playbook, evictions, squatters, self-help-eviction, landlord-tenant-law
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Schofield Properties is a family run property management company at 323 Richmond St, El Segundo, CA 90245. We have managed the South Bay since 1972 and personally oversee about 186 doors today. Book a call to talk about your property.
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