I'm sorry to hear about your situation.
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf
Please review the link above on the law of eviction. It depends on the lease, and reason. If your tenant has a lease and has been paying on time and has not breached the lease, you do not have the right to evict the tenant just because you need a place to stay.
I advise you talk with an attorney before you get yourself into trouble.
Here is one resource for an attorney David Hammerslough 408-261-4252... more
To characterize Fair Housing as a “program” is misleading. That makes it sound voluntary. Fair Housing laws are just that – laws. Adherence is not voluntary and lack of adherence can have serious consequences.... more
As a property manager/landlord over the past six years, I've received lots of applications from people who have lost their homes to foreclosure or have gone through short sales. This kills the applicant's credit score, but causes landlords to become more detailed in their analysis of credit reports. We look at what caused an applicant's score to drop, such as a foreclosure, and try to isolate that information from the rest of the applicant's financial picture. We look at your current debts, the monthly cost of paying those debts, and whether or not you've been late on other payments recently. We also verify employment.
When a landlord receives multiple applications, they will obviously put the highest income and credit score on top. Many owners (including a few I manage properties for) have the same credit score criteria as mortgage lenders.
Best you can do is analyze your own credit report and see what you can do to eliminate negative items. In the meantime, submit rental applications along with an explanation of any credit issues to try to tell the landlord why they should not be a problem when renting to you.... more
You may want to check rental ads to give you an idea as to what units like yours are renting for. You can also go www.rentometer.com to give you an idea of the rental market rate of your unit. There has been an tremendous demand for rentals in our area and that has trigger a rental increase. Good luck!
Jose... more