Orange County renters face a market where a single missed deadline can be very difficult to recover from, because replacement housing is expensive and moves quickly. That makes the response window in an unlawful detainer case worth every hour of it. Whether the papers came from a large property management company in Irvine or an individual owner in Garden Grove, the deadline is identical and it is short.
We have been preparing and filing eviction responses for California tenants for thirty years, and Orange County is a few miles from our Diamond Bar office. If you have been served, call and read us the first page.
The court
Eviction cases here are filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Your summons identifies the specific courthouse that will handle your case, which is determined by the location of the property. Confirm it against the document rather than assuming, because a filing delivered to the wrong location does not count as filed.
Cities we serve in Orange County
We work throughout the county, including Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Orange, Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Buena Park, along with the surrounding communities.
What we prepare
- Unlawful Detainer Answer, form UD-105. The formal response that keeps a default judgment off the table.
- Stay of eviction requests. Emergency requests to postpone a lockout after the sheriff has posted a notice to vacate.
- Notice response guidance. A line by line review of your 3-day, 30-day, or 60-day notice.
- Motions and demurrers. Direct challenges to a defective notice or complaint.
- Foreclosure evictions. Help for tenants and former owners after a property changes hands at a trustee’s sale.
- Filing and deadline tracking. Every date calendared, with 24/7 online access to your file.
Your deadline
Once a summons and complaint have been served on you, you generally have 5 court days to file a written response. Court days skip weekends and court holidays, so five court days is usually about a calendar week, and a holiday can shift it.
If nothing is filed in that window, the landlord can ask the court to enter your default. From there a judgment for possession, a writ of possession, and a sheriff’s notice to vacate can follow quickly, with no further opportunity for you to be heard.
If what you have is a notice rather than court papers, no case exists yet. That is a better position than most people realize, and the 3-day notice guide explains what to check.
What we see most often in Orange County
A large share of the cases we handle here begin with a no-fault termination rather than unpaid rent. Owners selling a property, moving a family member in, or converting a unit generate 30-day and 60-day notices, and those notices carry requirements that are easy to get wrong: the right notice period for the length of the tenancy, a stated reason where one is required, and relocation assistance where the reason is a no-fault one.
The other pattern is procedural. Larger management companies file in volume, and volume produces mistakes in the notice, in the amount demanded, and in how service was performed. None of that helps you if nothing is filed by your deadline, which is why the response comes first and the argument comes second.
Start here
- How long does an eviction take in California? sets out the full timeline from notice to lockout.
- How to respond to an unlawful detainer covers the UD-105 answer and the defenses available.
- 30-day and 60-day notices in California is for no-fault terminations, which are common in this county.
- What can I do if I’m being evicted? is the place to start if you are not sure which stage you are in.
Call now
Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call (951) 702-7771 and tell us what you were served with and the date you received it. The consultation is free, and you will finish the call knowing your exact deadline and what has to happen before it.
Orange County questions
Which court handles evictions in Orange County?
Unlawful detainer cases are heard in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. The courthouse handling your case is identified on your summons and is determined by where the property is located, so check the summons rather than assuming.
How long do I have to respond in Orange County?
Generally 5 court days after you are served with the summons and complaint. Court days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays. The deadline is set by state law, so it is the same in Orange County as anywhere else in California.
My landlord gave me a 60-day notice. Do I have to leave on that date?
No. A notice is a demand from your landlord, not an order from a court. If you remain past the date, the landlord's next step is to file an unlawful detainer and serve you. Only a judge can order you removed, and only the sheriff can carry out a lockout.
Do you work in north and south Orange County?
Yes, throughout the county, from Fullerton and Buena Park in the north to San Clemente and the south county communities. Our office is in Diamond Bar, a short distance up the freeway from the county line.
This website provides general information about the California eviction process and is not legal advice.