Use of Form Interrogations in a California Unlawful Detainer (Eviction)

The use of form interrogations in a California unlawful detainer (eviction) case is the subject of this article.

The California Eviction Form Interrogations is Judicial Council Form UD-106, which is also known as DISC-003. This form is published by the Judicial Council of California for optional use.

This form is extremely useful as it is 7 pages long and has check boxes that cover most of the situations that arise in an eviction case in California. They are especially useful for tenants who are sued, as they can get a lot of useful information in a minimum amount of time.

For a California tenant, the boxes to consider checking would be:

Boxes 70.1 and 70.14 in all cases;

Boxes 71.1 through 71.9 if you claim that the three-day notice is defective in any way;

Box 72.2 if you claim that you did not receive the three-day notice;

Box 73.3 if the landlord claims that you are being maliciously detained;

Boxes 74.1 to 74.6 ONLY if you rent in a city with rent control or eviction laws;

Boxes 75.1, 75.2. 75.4, 75.5. 75.6, 75.7, 75.8 if it maintains that the landlord violated the guarantee of habitability of the premises;

Box 76.2 if you contend that the landlord resigned, changed, withdrew, or canceled the eviction notice;

Box 77.1 if you maintain that the owner committed retaliation or arbitrary discrimination;

Boxes 78.1 and 78.2 if you state that the owner did not comply with the terms of the rental agreement;

Box 79.0 if you contend that you offered to pay rent to the landlord before the three-day notice period expired;

Boxes 80.4 and 80.5 if you are claiming a rent deduction for necessary repairs to the unit, also known as the “repair and deduction” remedy;

Box 81.1 and 81.3 if you claim that the fair market rental value claimed in the lawsuit is not correct due to habitability issues.

Form UD-106 can be downloaded in a PDF format to complete from the California Courts website located at http://www.courts.ca.gov/formnumber.htm

Depending on the particular situation, other boxes can also be checked. Once the form is completely filled out, a copy should be given to the landlord’s attorney, or to the landlord if they do not have an attorney. Proof of delivery must be included. The form is not filed with the court in most cases. The other party will have 5 days to respond if the form is delivered in person and 10 days to respond if the form is delivered by mail.

The author sincerely hopes that you have enjoyed this article and found it informative. If you enjoy this article, please tell others.

Sincerely,

Stan burman