For collecting rent on an illegal apartment, sometimes a City/Judge will make you pay back all rents received from an existing tenant. I would pay the tenants to leave, after they sign a paper and hand you the keys.

I'm not sure if you would like to head to court without a lawyer if that what it's going to come down to. You might consider at least sending an email to Todd Rothbard who's an eviction attorney in the Bay Area. Although he's in West San Jose, he and his office handle throughout the area. He charges a flat fee, and I heard that his prices are reasonable. I once contacted his office with a ton of questions about an easy procedure and received lots of free help over the phone and throught email. I ended up not hiring him because the tenant ended up paying. Another attorney is Peter Liedetman in Berkeley. I once saw an open house in the Berkeley Hills, and supposedly a family had to evict a tenant who didn't want to leave a small in-law quarter on the property. The realtor told me about Peter.

I understand a bit of what you're going through, and I actually know both tenants and landlords in the area who were in similar situations.

Brian,

You have to adjust your thinking to reality.

You have been taking money all these years illegally. YOU are breaking the law.

You were notified and fined 10 months ago and still have not followed the law. Get ready to pay another fine soon, which will probably be hefty and might include jail time, unless to come to reality.

City officials get really nasty on topics like this.

People don't make life changes until they are FORCED by some kind of deadline with a penalty.

Give them written notice to vacant well before the deadline (because you still have construction work to do).

At this point m best suggestion is Cash For Keys - once out by the deadline YOU make you will give them $XXX. I suggest a month's rent to cover the deposit on their new place.

And no, I don't buy the excuse they can't find anywhere. That's THEIR problem and is probably just an excuse.

Get online and on the phone, call your fellow LLs and help them find a place.

BRAD

Go to their home today with one package in each hand.

In your left hand, a notice to vacate by Friday, Oct 12th, 2018, along with a $1,000 check made payable to them.

In your right hand, an eviction notice listing all of their names along with "et al" to ensure you get everyone else who is temporarily squatting there, to be filed in court at noon tomorrow if they have not accepted your left hand offer.

Show them both package and tell them they have 24 hours to choose ONE or the OTHER. There is no third choice. There are no "buts", "ifs", "ands" etc.

What is it that makes the garage apartment illegal? Do you have 15 Mexicans living in there and no running water?

I think that due to the disastrous fire at the Ghost Ship warehouse, perhaps the City of Oakland now cracks down especially hard on converted garages and the like. With housing being very expensive all over Oakland, I could easily understand how anyone would not want to move out of a place if the rent is reasonably priced;common tenants might include engineers, artists, persons in the trades, etc.

Anyway, like S i D noted, it would be good to compose an eviction letter that names everyone who is living there with whom you have noted in any previous lease you all have signed. I've heard of people receiving five figures to leave rentals in SF and Berkeley, so you might talk to local Oakland landlords as to what they do or did if it helps.

If and when the tenants leave, please do secure the property well so that no one can return. I've heard about a bunch of squatters who broke into a newly renovated house on the market in the Oakland Hills who were able to establish residency and trashed the place after thirty days until the owner could gain possession.