Starting January 1, 2025, a new California law will double the response time for tenants facing eviction, giving renters a crucial opportunity to seek legal advice and prepare their cases. The new law extends the response window from five business days to 10 business days.
For years, eviction notices in California have allowed just five business days for tenants to respond—far less than the 30 days typically granted for most other court summons. This limited timeline left many renters scrambling to gather resources or seek legal help in time to fight their eviction.
Genea Nicole Wall, a tenant from City Heights, shared her experience navigating the eviction process earlier this year after falling behind on rent payments.
“You’re trying to pack up and trying to respond. You’re just all over the place. You’re emotionally all over the place,” Wall said. “Going to court trying to get assistance… It was just a grueling task. Daunting trying to get stuff done.”
The law’s aim is to alleviate this kind of stress and provide tenants with more time to stabilize their situations and build a defense against eviction.
“What do those extra five days mean for someone who was just served an eviction notice? It’s giving people more time to get your bearings, figure out what you’re going to do before it’s too late and you lose automatically and get fast-tracked to being homeless,” said Gilberto Vera, an attorney with the nonprofit Legal Aid Society.
According to Vera, 40% of tenants facing eviction in San Diego last year didn’t respond to their court summons, leading to automatic losses.
“If they don’t respond and tell the court that the eviction was wrongful and invalid—they’ll lose automatically,” Vera explained.
Advocates hope the additional time will empower renters to better understand their rights and prevent wrongful evictions, providing a vital lifeline to those at risk of losing their homes.
