Tenant has not paid rent yet and nobody is at home in CA

[Vijay Jain]

What should be my next steps, I have texted him and called him but to no avail.

[Kyle J.]

First thing you should do is immediately serve a 3 Day Pay or Quit notice.  There are three different ways it can be served.  You can personally serve the tenant at home, but you don't have to.  You could serve the tenant at work (I'm assuming you know where he works), or post the notice on his door and mail another copy to him.  There's some more info on serving the notice here: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/terminations.shtml.

If after serving the notice, the tenant doesn't pay in the allotted time, you're next step would be to file an Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit.   

I wouldn't wait any longer to serve the initial 3 Day notice though.  The month is half over and your tenant isn't communicating with you.  That's not a good sign.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, consult with a local landlord-tenant attorney in your area and have them do it.  Or there may be eviction companies in your area that have paralegals that can fill out the forms for you at a reduced cost (compared to what an attorney would charge), but they won't be able to represent you in court (if it goes that far) unless they have an attorney on staff.

Some times it pays to have professional help, especially the first time you have to go through this, because a mistake in the service or filling out a form could cause lengthy delays down the road.

Good luck and hope it works out for you.