NO TRIVIAL EVICTION ALLOWED (March 2016)

Not every uncured tenant default qualifies as a valid ground for eviction.  Code of Civil Procedure section 1161 defines unlawful detainer to include staying in possession of the leased premises after the tenant breaches the lease and being served with a three-day notice to cure or quit.  However, the courts have interpreted that statute as requiring a material breach to warrant eviction.  In other words, the lease may be terminated and the tenant evicted only if the breach is substantial and not merely technical or trivial.  In a recent case, Boston LLC v. Juarez, the Second District Court of Appeal recently clarified that this requirement applies even if the lease contains a forfeiture clause that explicitly states that any breach by the tenant allows the landlord to declare a forfeiture of the lease and terminate the tenant’s right to possession of the leased premises.