"Board-and-care" is the everyday name for a licensed adult residential facility — the small homes where many Californians with serious mental illness live. The licence comes with an eviction rule of its own.
The short answer: for the reasons the regulation lists, and with a written notice that states the facts. An adult residential facility — "any facility of any capacity that provides 24-hour-a-day nonmedical care and supervision to … persons 18 years of age through 59 years of age"¹ — "shall be permitted to evict a client by serving the client with a 30-day written notice to quit for any of the following reasons": "nonpayment of the rate for basic services within ten days of the due date"; "failure of the client to comply with state or local law after receiving written notice of the alleged violation"; "failure of the client to comply with the general facility policies as specified in the Admission Agreement"; a needs-and-services-plan modification that "determined that the client's needs cannot be met by the facility and the client has been given an opportunity to relocate"; or "change of use of the facility."² A three-day notice is allowed only if "the licensing agency has granted prior written and/or documented telephone approval for the eviction" and "the client has engaged or is engaging in behavior which is a threat to his/her mental and/or physical health or safety, or to the health and safety of others in the facility."² Either way, "the licensee shall set forth in the notice to quit the reasons for the eviction, with specific facts including the date, place, witnesses, and circumstances."²
The five 30-day reasons
- Non-payment — "nonpayment of the rate for basic services within ten days of the due date."² Ten days' grace is built in.
- Breaking the law — "failure of the client to comply with state or local law after receiving written notice of the alleged violation."² Written notice first; then the eviction notice.
- House rules — "failure of the client to comply with the general facility policies as specified in the Admission Agreement."² The rule has to be in the agreement you signed. Ask for your copy.
- Needs the facility cannot meet — after a needs-and-services-plan modification under section 85068.3 that "determined that the client's needs cannot be met by the facility and the client has been given an opportunity to relocate."² This is the one used when a resident's condition changes; it requires the plan process first.
- Change of use — "change of use of the facility."²
The three-day notice
Three days is the exception, and it needs two things at once: the licensing agency's prior approval, and behaviour "which is a threat to his/her mental and/or physical health or safety, or to the health and safety of others in the facility."² The agency "shall reply to a request for such approval within two working days," and "failure of the licensing agency to reply within two working days shall be considered approval."² So a three-day notice served without any request ever having been made to the agency does not satisfy the first requirement; ask the operator for the date of the request and whether the agency replied — silence for two working days counts as approval.²
What the notice must contain, and who else gets it
Every notice to quit must state "the reasons for the eviction, with specific facts including the date, place, witnesses, and circumstances."² A notice that says "violation of house rules" and nothing more does not meet that description. The licensee must also "notify or mail a copy of the notice to quit to the client's authorized representative if any,"² and "a written report of any eviction processed in accordance with (a) above shall be sent to the licensing agency within five days of the eviction."² Nothing in the section "is intended to preclude the licensee or client from invoking any other available remedy."² Housing accommodations for a mental health condition →
Complaining to the licensing agency
The facility is licensed by the State Department of Social Services — the "state department" of the licensing chapter¹ — and "any person may request an inspection of any community care facility … by transmitting to the state department notice of an alleged violation," "either orally or in writing."³ On receiving a complaint, the department "shall make a preliminary review and, unless the state department determines that the complaint is willfully intended to harass a licensee … or is without any reasonable basis, it shall make an onsite inspection of the community care facility … within 10 days after receiving the complaint," unless a visit "would adversely affect the licensing investigation or the investigation of other agencies," and "the complainant shall be promptly informed of the state department's proposed course of action."³ The substance of the complaint is given to the licensee "no earlier than at the time of the inspection," and, unless you ask otherwise, without the name of anyone mentioned in the complaint, including yours.³
What to do
- Read the notice against the list. Is the reason one of the five, and does the notice give "the date, place, witnesses, and circumstances"?² If it is a three-day notice, ask for the licensing agency's approval or the date of the request.²
- Get your admission agreement. Reason 3 depends on what it says.²
- If the reason is that your needs have changed, ask whether a needs-and-services-plan modification was done and when you were offered a chance to relocate.²
- Complain to the Department of Social Services if the notice is defective; the inspection clock is ten days unless a visit would compromise an investigation.³ If you receive county mental health services, the county patients' rights advocate may be able to help. Who is the patients' rights advocate? →
- Line up the next placement. A conservator, county case manager or the facility's own plan should be doing this; ask who is.
Worked example
A resident with schizophrenia is handed a note saying he must leave in three days for "disruptive behaviour." The operator has not asked the licensing agency for approval, and the note names no date, place or witnesses. The notice fails the approval requirement and the content rule; whether "disruptive behaviour" amounts to a threat to health or safety is a separate factual question the notice gives no facts to answer.² He calls the Department of Social Services; the department must review the complaint and, unless it finds it baseless or a visit would compromise an investigation, inspect within ten days.³ The operator, if it wants him out, must serve a proper notice: a 30-day notice on one of the five listed grounds with the facts stated, or a three-day notice only with the agency's approval and a documented threat to health or safety.²
Q&A
Q: Is a board-and-care the same as a nursing home or an assisted-living facility for older people? A: No. An adult residential facility serves people 18 through 59 (and people 60 and over only under a separate rule) with non-medical care and supervision.¹ Facilities for older people and nursing homes are licensed under other rules, not cited here.
Q: Can they evict me because my SSI cheque was late? A: Non-payment is a ground only after "ten days of the due date," and then on 30 days' notice.²
Q: They say I need a "higher level of care." Can they just put me out? A: Only after a needs-and-services-plan modification that found the facility cannot meet your needs, and after you were given an opportunity to relocate — then on 30 days' notice.²
Q: Does an unlawful detainer still apply? A: The regulation says it does not preclude "any other available remedy."² The licensing rule is the floor; whether a court process follows is a question for a legal aid office.
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Sources
- 22 Cal. Code Regs. §80001(a)(5) — "'Adult Residential Facility' means any facility of any capacity that provides 24-hour-a-day nonmedical care and supervision to the following: (A) persons 18 years of age through 59 years of age; and (B) persons 60 years of age and older only in accordance with Section 85068.4" — regulations.justia.com. Cal. Health & Safety Code §1502(a)(1) — "'Residential facility' means any family home, group care facility, or similar facility determined by the department, for 24-hour nonmedical care of persons in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual" ; §1502(b) "'Department' or 'state department' means the State Department of Social Services" — california.public.law. 22 CCR §85001 ("In addition to Section 80001, the following shall apply") incorporates the Chapter 1 definitions into the adult residential facility chapter — regulations.justia.com.
- 22 Cal. Code Regs. §85068.5, "Eviction Procedures" — (a) "The licensee shall be permitted to evict a client by serving the client with a 30-day written notice to quit for any of the following reasons: (1) Nonpayment of the rate for basic services within ten days of the due date. (2) Failure of the client to comply with state or local law after receiving written notice of the alleged violation. (3) Failure of the client to comply with the general facility policies as specified in the Admission Agreement. (4) A needs and services plan modification has been performed, as specified in Section 85068.3, which determined that the client's needs cannot be met by the facility and the client has been given an opportunity to relocate as specified in Section 85068.3(b)(3). (5) Change of use of the facility"; (b) "The licensee shall be permitted to evict a client by serving the client with a three-day written notice to quit provided that both of the following requirements have been met: (1) The licensing agency has granted prior written and/or documented telephone approval for the eviction. (A) The licensing agency shall reply to a request for such approval within two working days. (B) Failure of the licensing agency to reply within two working days shall be considered approval. (2) The client has engaged or is engaging in behavior which is a threat to his/her mental and/or physical health or safety, or to the health and safety of others in the facility"; (c) "The licensee shall set forth in the notice to quit the reasons for the eviction, with specific facts including the date, place, witnesses, and circumstances"; (d) "The licensee shall, upon completion of the procedures specified in (a) or (b) above, notify or mail a copy of the notice to quit to the client's authorized representative if any"; (e) "A written report of any eviction processed in accordance with (a) above shall be sent to the licensing agency within five days of the eviction"; (f) "Nothing in this section is intended to preclude the licensee or client from invoking any other available remedy" — law.cornell.edu.
- Cal. Health & Safety Code §1538 — (a) "Any person may request an inspection of any community care facility … in accordance with this chapter by transmitting to the state department notice of an alleged violation of applicable requirements prescribed by statutes or regulations of this state … A complaint may be made either orally or in writing"; (b) "The substance of the complaint shall be provided to the licensee … no earlier than at the time of the inspection. Unless the complainant specifically requests otherwise, neither the substance of the complaint provided to the licensee … nor any copy of the complaint … shall disclose the name of any person mentioned in the complaint"; (c)(1) "Upon receipt of a complaint …, the state department shall make a preliminary review and, unless the state department determines that the complaint is willfully intended to harass a licensee, certified family home, or resource family, or is without any reasonable basis, it shall make an onsite inspection of the community care facility, certified family home, or resource family home within 10 days after receiving the complaint, except where a visit would adversely affect the licensing investigation or the investigation of other agencies. In either event, the complainant shall be promptly informed of the state department's proposed course of action" — california.public.law.
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