(KRON)—California has almost hundreds of new laws coming into place this year, but there is one that hasn’t changed that continues to plague homeowners.

It’s a law that protects tenants who continue to live in a space without paying rent.

KRON4’s Ella Sogomonian was in the East Bay where she met a woman who struggled to kick out a renter in a suburb called Kensington.

It’s the worst case scenario a tenant stopped paying rent forcing the East Bay landlord out of her own home.

It’s a process that can stretch for months draining a landlord both financially and emotionally.

Elizabeth Abel rented her Kensington home this time last year to a fellow professor while she went on sabbatical.

When she came back rent hadn’t been paid by the tenant for three months, her utilities were cut off, and neighbors reported the man had moved her furniture out.

Abel was forced to move in with neighbors.

She notified police whose hands were tied.

The California Department of Consumer Affairs explains state law protects tenants from retaliation or discrimination.

But this can prolong an unpaying renter’s stay for several months.

If a tenant fails to pay rent a landlord first has to give:

– three day’s written notice

– evict by filing an unlawful detainer lawsuit

– a judge will hear the case approx 20 days

– can cost thousands in attorney fees