You were served with an eviction.
Answer it.
Filing an answer stops your landlord from winning by default and gets you a trial date. It takes about ten minutes here. Everything comes from your summons and your own words, nothing is invented.
Have the papers? Upload them.
Drop the summons and complaint your landlord served you. We read the case number, court, landlord, rent, and service date off the page so you don't have to type them. PDF or photos, up to 5 files.
The papers you were served
Top right corner of the summons.
The county named at the top of the summons.
Copy it exactly as written on the summons, including LLC or Inc.
Look at the complaint. Under $1,000 lets you file a simple general denial.
Who is answering
Anyone who doesn't sign can still lose by default.
Your defenses
Check everything that is true. Each one is a real box on the court's form, and each one is a reason the judge can rule for you. Only check what you can back up.
COVID-era protections (older rent only)
The state COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act rules expired October 1, 2025. They still apply to rent that came due while they were in force. Only open this if your case is about that older debt.
What happened, in your words
Dates, what you told the landlord, what they did. This goes on the form as item 3t and the judge reads it.
Leave blank if you still live there.
The landlord charges you for every day the case runs at the rental value they claim. If the place is worth less than that, say so here and you cap what they can collect. Leave it blank if you agree with their number.
Mailing and fees
If the landlord has a lawyer, use the lawyer's name from the summons.
Fee waiver details
The court needs these to grant the waiver. Page 2 of FW-001 is blank without them, and a blank page 2 is refused.
Self-help forms, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created. Free legal aid for tenants is at lawhelpca.org.