California Courts: Self-Help Center: More Topics: Landlord/Tenant: Evictions Questions & Answers: General Information: What cases are not suited to unlawful detainers?

Unlawful detainers are not for cases where:

A tenant wants the landlord to fix something in the apartment,
A tenant moved out but still owes the landlord for unpaid rent or damages,
There are disputes about fraud or ownership, or
There is a dispute about the security deposit after the tenant moves out. For information on security deposits, click here.

Most of these cases are handled in Small Claims Court. For more information, click here.

Last modified: 03/17/2008