In California, unlawful detainer cases, including the court index, are not public until 60 days after the filing of the case.

In my area, if the tenant doesn't pay after the time frame in the pay or quit, I complete the unlawful detainer paperwork ( which is available online in my area) print the # of copies I need, call the court for a court date, go to the courts and file the paperwork.Show up to court on given date, if tenant doesn't show I usually get immediate possession but still have to file additional paperwork for the Sherriff to serve the tenants.If the tenant shows up to court, the judge usually gives me possession in 10 days , but I still have to file additional paperwork after the 10 day period for the Sherriff to serve the tenant and for me stay on the right side of the law.

A completed unlawful detainer action is $600, $250 of which is the court fee.

You'll likely have to go through due process to get a judgment against them for California's equivalent of forcible detainer .

Your house/apartment could also be the location where they are detained, which may include damage to the property in the detaining - and guess who gets left holding the bag?

Here in California it goes on their civil record so when doing a criminal research you will see an "Unlawful Detainer" filed against them.

That paper trail comes in quite handy during a trial for an unlawlful detainer.

Once the days have passed, you can go to the small claims court and file for an unlawful detainer.

You should run that report independently, and also search for legal actions (evictions & unlawful detainers), and any criminal convictions.As a former property manager to a few large apartment communities, I tell you that 90% of problems come from poor tenant screening.  

If you really don’t want them there any more, and they truly refuse to leave, you’d be forced to evict them (unlawful detainer action) to remove them.