What must an eviction notice actually say?

It must set out the reasons with specific facts enough to permit determination of the date, place, witnesses and circumstances, plus five things: the effective date; resources to help identify other housing and care, including referral services and case management organisations; a statement of the resident's right to file a complaint with the licensing agency, with that office's name, address and telephone number; the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman office; and the exact statement required by Health and Safety Code section 1569.683(a)(4). A copy must also go to the resident's responsible person. A notice missing any of this is worth raising immediately.

Can they put my mother out after 30 days if we have nowhere to go?

Not by themselves. California requires the notice itself to state that in order to evict a resident who remains after the effective date, the facility must file an unlawful detainer action in superior court and receive a written judgment signed by a judge; that the resident must be served with a summons and complaint if it does; and that the resident has the right to contest the eviction in writing and through a hearing. Separately, on request from the resident or their designated representative, the Department of Social Services must investigate the reasons given for the eviction.

Can I make the state look into why they are evicting my mother?

Yes. Under 22 CCR 87224(e), on the request of a resident or their designated representative, the Department shall investigate the reasons given for the eviction, under Health and Safety Code section 1569.35. It is an entitlement rather than a complaint that may or may not be taken up. The facility also has to send the licensing agency a written report of any eviction within five days.

Can a care home give three days' notice instead of thirty?

Only with the licensing agency's prior written approval, on a finding of good cause — broadly, behaviour that threatens the health or safety of the resident or others in the home. A three-day notice without that prior approval is not valid.

A quiet corridor with daylight falling across the floor

If you are holding a notice

Read the notice before you start packing

California sets out exactly what an eviction notice from a care home must contain and exactly what the home may do if the resident is still there on the effective date. Both are more protective than families expect, and a notice that gets them wrong is your strongest lever.

First: check what the notice says

The notice has to set out the reasons relied on with specific facts enough to permit determination of the date, place, witnesses and circumstances behind them. “She was non-compliant with facility policies” does not meet that standard. And it must contain all five of these:

The effective date of the eviction.
Resources to help identify other housing and care — including referral services that aid in finding alternative housing, and case management organisations.
A statement of your right to file a complaint with the licensing agency, with that office's name, address and telephone number.
The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman office.
The exact statement set out in Health and Safety Code section 1569.683(a)(4) — quoted in full below. Word for word; the law specifies it.

A copy must also be sent to the resident's responsible person. If your notice is missing any of this, say so to the home in writing and raise it with the Ombudsman — it is the fastest leverage you have, and most families never check.

The grounds

There are five, and only five

If the notice does not rest on one of these, it is worth challenging.

Non-payment

The basic rate was not paid within ten days of the due date.

Breaking the law

Failure to comply with state or local law, after written notice of the alleged violation.

Breaking the home's own rules

Failure to comply with the facility's general policies. Those policies must be in writing, must be part of the admission agreement, and — this is the part to check — must exist for the purpose of making it possible for residents to live together. A house rule that serves the operator's convenience rather than that purpose is not a ground.

A need the home cannot meet

A need not previously identified, where a reappraisal has been carried out under 22 CCR 87463 and both the licensee and the person who did the reappraisal believe the facility is not appropriate for the resident. It is a two-party test, and it requires an actual reappraisal. This is the ground most dementia families receive.

Change of use

The facility is changing what it is used for. This one requires not less than sixty days' notice rather than thirty.

Grounds one to four require 30 days' written notice. Change of use requires not less than 60 days. A three-day notice is possible only where the licensing agency has given prior written approval on a finding of good cause — broadly, behaviour threatening the health or safety of the resident or others. Without that prior approval, a three-day notice is not valid. (22 CCR 87224.)

What happens on day thirty-one

Less than families fear. California requires the notice itself to carry this statement, in these words:

“In order to evict a resident who remains in the facility after the effective date of the eviction, the residential care facility for the elderly must file an unlawful detainer action in superior court and receive a written judgment signed by a judge. If the facility pursues the unlawful detainer action, you must be served with a summons and complaint. You have the right to contest the eviction in writing and through a hearing.”

Read the second half again, because it is the half that gets skimmed. A home cannot simply put somebody out when the date passes — it has to go to court, you have to be served, and you have the right to contest the eviction in writing and at a hearing. That is not a favour the home grants. The law makes the home print it on the notice.

There is a second entitlement that is easy to miss. On the request of the resident or their designated representative, the Department shall investigate the reasons given for the eviction. Not may — shall. And the home has to send the licensing agency a written report of any eviction within five days, so the state has a record of this whether or not anybody asks.

None of that means ignoring the notice. It means you have more room than the letter implies, and you should use it to find the right next home rather than the first available one.

The reappraisal ground, and why it is the common one

Ground four — a need identified after admission that a reappraisal says the home cannot meet — is the one most families actually receive, and it usually arrives as a condition advances. Somebody begins to need two people to transfer, or starts trying to leave, or stops being able to do anything unaided.

It is worth knowing that this is not always the dead end it reads as. California's prohibited conditions are not an absolute bar — a home can apply to the state for a written exception, and one holding a hospice waiver may not need to. If a home says it cannot keep her, a fair question is whether it has considered either route, or simply does not want to.

Three situations that work differently

Where this section does not simply apply

A continuing care contract: 22 CCR 87224 does not apply to a resident who has entered into a continuing care contract with the facility. If your parent bought into a continuing care retirement community, the contract and a different part of the Health and Safety Code govern, and you want somebody reading that contract.
A hospice resident being moved urgently: A home may begin an urgent relocation of a terminally ill resident receiving hospice services to a licensed health facility — but only where the condition has changed and a joint determination has been made by the Department, the resident or their health care surrogate, the hospice agency, a physician, and the licensee, that continued retention poses a health and safety risk. Five parties, including you or your parent's surrogate. One party deciding alone is not that.
Other remedies still exist: Nothing in the eviction section stops either the home or the resident from using any other remedy available to them. The thirty-day notice is a floor on the resident's protection, not a ceiling.

Thirty days is enough time

What to do with the window

1Check the notice against the five required items, in writing, today. A defective notice changes the conversation.
2Ask the Department in writing to investigate the reasons given. On request from the resident or their designated representative it must investigate — this is the strongest single step and it costs nothing.
3Call the Long-Term Care Ombudsman on 1 (800) 300-6222. Free, independent of the home and of us, and this is exactly what they are for.
4If the ground is a reappraisal, ask whether a reappraisal was actually carried out, who performed it, and whether the home considered a written exception or a hospice waiver instead.
5Start looking in parallel. Do not wait for the outcome of the challenge — if you win, you have lost nothing.

More free, independent numbers on our local help page.

Common questions

Eviction, answered

On what grounds can a California care home evict a resident?: Regulation 22 CCR 87224 lists five: non-payment of the basic rate within ten days of the due date; failure to comply with state or local law after written notice; failure to comply with the facility's general policies, where those are in writing, are part of the admission agreement and exist for the purpose of making it possible for residents to live together; a need not previously identified where a reappraisal under 22 CCR 87463 has been carried out and both the licensee and the person who performed it believe the facility is not appropriate; and change of use of the facility. The first four require 30 days' written notice; change of use requires not less than 60.
What must an eviction notice actually say?: It must set out the reasons with specific facts enough to permit determination of the date, place, witnesses and circumstances, plus five things: the effective date; resources to help identify other housing and care, including referral services and case management organisations; a statement of the resident's right to file a complaint with the licensing agency, with that office's name, address and telephone number; the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman office; and the exact statement required by Health and Safety Code section 1569.683(a)(4). A copy must also go to the resident's responsible person. A notice missing any of this is worth raising immediately.
Can they put my mother out after 30 days if we have nowhere to go?: Not by themselves. California requires the notice itself to state that in order to evict a resident who remains after the effective date, the facility must file an unlawful detainer action in superior court and receive a written judgment signed by a judge; that the resident must be served with a summons and complaint if it does; and that the resident has the right to contest the eviction in writing and through a hearing. Separately, on request from the resident or their designated representative, the Department of Social Services must investigate the reasons given for the eviction.
Can I make the state look into why they are evicting my mother?: Yes. Under 22 CCR 87224(e), on the request of a resident or their designated representative, the Department shall investigate the reasons given for the eviction, under Health and Safety Code section 1569.35. It is an entitlement rather than a complaint that may or may not be taken up. The facility also has to send the licensing agency a written report of any eviction within five days.
Can a care home give three days' notice instead of thirty?: Only with the licensing agency's prior written approval, on a finding of good cause — broadly, behaviour that threatens the health or safety of the resident or others in the home. A three-day notice without that prior approval is not valid.

Summarised from 22 CCR 87224 — including the reappraisal cross-reference to 87463, the complaint right at 87468(a)(4) and the hospice relocation procedure at 87637(b)(2) — and from California Health and Safety Code sections 1569.35, 1569.682 and 1569.683, read at source. General information for families, not legal advice — if you are contesting an eviction, call the Ombudsman.

Last reviewed October 13, 2026. Regulation citations are re-read at source whenever this page is revised.

Thirty days is enough, if you start now

Tell us what the notice says and what she needs. We will tell you which Anaheim homes can take her, and whether the home that gave notice had to.

Or just call us

(714) 975-9652

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