In court-decided eviction outcomes for Altadena, CA, tenants prevail in roughly 42.7% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
289d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Altadena, CA until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 289 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$15.9-34.6k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Altadena, CA costs landlords $15,903 to $34,554 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$2,355
38% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Altadena, CA is $2,355 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 38% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
23.1%
of households
23.1% of occupied housing units in Altadena, CA are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
7.4%
7.3% unemp.
7.4% of Altadena, CA residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 7.3%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
Dem margin +32.9% (2024)
7.5
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
7.5
State political climate
California legislature & governorship
6.8
Economic stress
7.4% poverty · 7.3% unemp.
6.1
Supply constraint
$2,355 average · 23.1% renters
7.3
Rent Control risk
38.0% of income on rent
7.7
Eviction process difficulty
289 days filing → judgment
6.3
Tenant organizing strength
23.1% renters
5.0
Housing court bias
County bench composition
6.0
Geographic context
Risk heat across Altadena and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Altadena compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Los Angeles County
Elevated
#56of 144 cities
#56 of 144 cities in Los Angeles County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in California
High
#343of 1,594 cities
#343 of 1,594 cities in California for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
6.9
/ 10 · ELEVATED
The verdict
A Elevated-tier market.
Composite 6.9/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.
50-yr trend+5.3 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible
289d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $2,355/mo. A contested eviction takes 289 days and costs $15,903-$34,554 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
23.1%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 41,705 residents, 23.1% rent. 38% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 7.4% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
7.5
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 7.5 and 7.5 (Dem margin +32.9% (2024)). State climate at 6.8, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
6.8
State politics
The process
Long calendar, heavy friction.
State political climate 6.8/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 6.3, housing court bias 6, rent-control risk 7.7. The slow part is the calendar, not the motion practice.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +1.3 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
6.1
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 6.1. Supply constraint: 7.3. The numbers behind those: 7.4% poverty, 7.3% unemployment, 38% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Altadena sits in the slow & expensive quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Altadena · 289d · ~$25.2k all-in ($87/day) · score 6.9National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0-4 4-7 7-10
Landlording in Altadena, California, presents an elevated-friction market where documented notices and proactive screening matter. The Eviction Risk Score is 6.9/10 (ELEVATED tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Elevated-friction market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Altadena is a city of 41,705 residents where 23.1% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 38.0% of income on rent. At an average rent of $2,355/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Altadena eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 6.3/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Altadena closes 289 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Altadena's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 6/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Altadena runs $15,903 to $34,554 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1-2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 289 days of typical timeline and $2,355/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 5/10 in Altadena, and the city carries meaningful rent control exposure (7.7/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In California, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Altadena: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a ELEVATED tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match California's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $34,554 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Altadena
Trap · 7.4%
Local poverty rate is 7.4%, and the rent-burden distribution skews the eviction-filings curve toward higher volume in Los Angeles County. Rent-control-risk sub-score: 7.7/10. Tenant organizing is most active in the rental concentration corridors.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
Can I evict a tenant for any reason in Altadena?
No. Altadena, like the rest of California, has statewide just-cause eviction requirements. You must have a legally recognized "just cause" (e.g., non-payment of rent, lease violation, owner move-in) to terminate a tenancy, even if the lease term has expired. There are some exemptions, primarily for single-family homes or condos where the owner lives in another unit on the property, or certain new constructions. Always verify if your property is exempt.
Q2
What if my Altadena tenant pays some, but not all, of the rent after I give a 3-day notice?
If they pay anything less than the full amount specified on the 3-day notice, and you accept it, you might inadvertently waive your right to evict based on that notice. This is a common landlord trap. If you accept partial payment, you usually have to issue a new 3-day notice for the remaining balance. It's often safer to decline partial payments and proceed with the eviction for the full amount, or negotiate a cash-for-keys deal.
Q3
How long do I have to return a security deposit in Altadena?
You have 21 calendar days from when the tenant moves out to return the security deposit or provide an itemized statement of deductions. If you deduct for damages, you must include receipts or estimates. Failure to comply can result in penalties, including the tenant suing you for up to twice the deposit amount. For more details, refer to California security deposit rules.
Q4
Can I deny a tenant application in Altadena if they receive Section 8?
No. California has source-of-income protection, meaning you cannot discriminate against applicants based on their lawful source of income, including Section 8 vouchers. You can still screen for other factors like credit history, rental history, and income-to-rent ratio (as long as it's applied consistently to all applicants), but you cannot reject them solely because they use a voucher.
Q5
What is the average rent in Altadena, and how does it compare to income?
The average rent in Altadena is $2,355/month. The rent-to-income ratio, which is the average rent divided by average income, is 38.0%. This indicates that a significant portion of income goes towards housing for many residents, which can contribute to economic stress and potential difficulties in paying rent. This contributes to Altadena's economic-stress sub-score of 6.1/10.
Q6
Should I offer cash for keys in Altadena?
Given the high typical eviction cost range ($15,903, $34,554) and the lengthy timeline (289 days), offering cash for keys is often a very smart move in Altadena. It can save you tens of thousands of dollars and many months of headaches. It provides a quicker, cleaner exit, often with less damage to the property, compared to a drawn-out, contested eviction. Consult with an attorney to draft a solid cash-for-keys agreement.
A 6.9/10 places Altadena in the 79th percentile of California cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has risen sharply since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Altadena (6.9/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
