Your deadline
The UD-101 is informational and does not carry a deadline. Your response deadline comes from the SUM-130 summons served with it: 10 days, not counting weekends and court holidays, from the service date. Read the UD-101 anyway, because the boxes the landlord checked tell you which protections the landlord says do or do not apply to you.
- Form
- UD-101
- Official name
- Plaintiff's Mandatory Cover Sheet and Supplemental Allegations, Unlawful Detainer
- Who gives it to you
- Served with the summons and complaint, filled out by the landlord
- The clock it starts
- No deadline of its own; the summons served with it starts the 10 court day clock
- Version shown here
- Rev. January 1, 2024, mandatory form
What to do if you are served a UD-101
- Check the box for the basis of the case. The form asks whether the case is based on nonpayment of rent, another lease breach, or a no-fault reason. That statement has to match the notice attached to the complaint.
- Look for the Tenant Protection Act statements. The form requires the landlord to say whether the tenancy is covered by the state just cause law and whether the notice complied with it. A wrong answer here can be a defense.
- Compare it to the complaint and the notice. The three documents are supposed to tell one consistent story. Where they disagree, write down the difference. Inconsistencies are exactly what an answer or a demurrer is built on.
- File your response within the summons deadline. Nothing about the UD-101 changes the clock. Prepare the UD-105 answer or the motion that fits and file it before the response period on the summons ends.
The UD-101 is the least-read page in an eviction packet and one of the more useful ones. Its full title is Plaintiff’s Mandatory Cover Sheet and Supplemental Allegations, Unlawful Detainer, and since 2020 the landlord has been required to file it alongside every UD-100 complaint. It exists so the court can tell, from the first filing, whether the case is subject to the state’s tenant protection laws and what the case is actually about.
What the landlord has to state on it
The form asks the landlord to check boxes, under penalty of perjury, on a handful of questions:
- The basis of the case. Whether the eviction is for nonpayment of rent, another breach of the lease, a nuisance or other fault ground, or a no-fault reason such as an owner move-in or removal of the unit from the rental market.
- Tenant Protection Act coverage. Whether the tenancy is covered by California’s just cause eviction law, Civil Code section 1946.2, and if so, whether the notice stated a just cause and, for no-fault evictions, whether relocation assistance was provided.
- Local ordinances. Whether a city or county rent control or just cause ordinance applies.
- Supplemental allegations. Additional facts the landlord relies on that do not fit on the UD-100, and any statements required by specific statutes that apply to the tenancy.
Why a tenant should read it closely
The three documents you were served, the summons, the complaint, and the cover sheet, are supposed to tell one consistent story. In practice they often do not. A UD-101 that says the tenancy is exempt from just cause when the building is a covered apartment, or that says relocation assistance was paid when it was not, or that describes a rent case when the attached notice is a 60-day no-fault notice, gives you something specific to deny in your answer and, in some cases, a reason to demur.
Write down every place the cover sheet disagrees with the complaint or the notice. Those differences become the facts section of your UD-105.
What to do next
Nothing about the UD-101 changes your deadline. The response period comes from the SUM-130 summons: 10 days, not counting weekends and court holidays, from the day you were served. Within that window the usual filing is the UD-105 Answer, Unlawful Detainer, prepared with the defenses that the packet supports. Call us with the packet in hand and we will go through all three documents with you, including this one.
Frequently asked questions
What is a UD-101 form?
The UD-101 is the Plaintiff's Mandatory Cover Sheet and Supplemental Allegations for unlawful detainer cases. Every landlord filing an eviction complaint in California has to file it with the UD-100 complaint. It states the legal basis for the case and whether various tenant protection laws apply.
Do I have to respond to a UD-101?
Not separately. You respond to the complaint, and your response is due within the period printed on the SUM-130 summons. The UD-101 is supporting information the court requires from the landlord, but its contents can be denied and challenged in your answer.
Why does the UD-101 matter to a tenant?
Because it forces the landlord to make specific statements under penalty of perjury about the basis of the case and about whether the Tenant Protection Act and any local eviction protections apply. If those statements are wrong, or contradict the notice, you have a defense.
Is the UD-101 the same as the complaint?
No. The UD-100 is the complaint that states the landlord's claims and what the landlord is asking for. The UD-101 is a mandatory cover sheet filed with it. They are served together along with the SUM-130 summons.
This website provides general information about the California eviction process and is not legal advice. Court forms are reproduced from the Judicial Council of California; confirm you are using the current revision before filing.