Can my landlord lock me out or shut off utilities in California?

No. Self-help eviction is illegal in California: Civil Code section 789.3 forbids a landlord from changing locks, removing doors or belongings, or cutting utilities to force a tenant out, with liability for actual damages plus one hundred dollars per day of violation. Only the sheriff, after a court judgment, may remove a tenant.

California allows only one path to recover possession from a tenant who has not left voluntarily: an unlawful detainer judgment enforced by the sheriff. Civil Code section 789.3 makes self-help eviction unlawful — a landlord may not terminate or interrupt utilities like water, heat, electricity, or internet with intent to force a tenant out, and may not change the locks, remove outside doors or windows, or take the tenant's property. The penalties are built for deterrence: the tenant may recover actual damages plus one hundred dollars for each day the violation continues, with a statutory minimum per violation, plus attorney fees. Related protections reach subtler pressure — Civil Code section 1940.2 prohibits theft, extortion, menacing conduct, and other tactics used to influence a tenant to vacate. A tenant who is locked out can seek an emergency court order restoring possession and should document everything: photographs, utility records, and witness information. Police often treat lockouts as civil matters, so the paper trail is what wins.

Authority: Cal. Civ. Code § 789.3