I was informed today that the house I reside in will clear escrow and will be sold by the 16th of the month that's 8 days from today. What can I do?

If you hired me, first I would carefully read your lease. Some leases say that the end of the initial lease term, the lease continues month-to-month. However, some say that the lease renews for another year. Which flavor is your lease? If your lease has converted to month-to-month, then the landlord, whether that's the old owner or the new owner, must first give you a 30 day notice, but if you've been there more than one year, then the landlord must give you a 60 day notice. Check the notice section of the lease. The notice must be in writing and delivered in the manner stated in the notice section. If the lease doesn't say, then it must be either hand delivered to one of you or sent by mail. Leaving a copy at your door does not count. At the end of the 30 day or 60 day notice, if you're still there, the landlord cannot change the locks, move out your possessions, turn off the water or electricity. The landlord must sue you for unlawful detainer to evict you. The summons and complaint must be properly "served" on you. Then you have 5 days to file an answer. The trial will be in 30-90 days. Then it will take a week or two for the sheriff to arrange to get out there to move you out. You might have defenses that an attorney could use to slow down this process. Landlords sometimes pay tenants to move out in order to avoid this process. The costs of hiring a professional moving company to pack and move your possessions, plus first month's rent and a security deposit for your new home, seems like a fair compensation to me. If your lease renewed for another year, then the new owner is stuck with that. A court will not evict you. The new owner will have to either wait for the new lease term to expire, or pay you to buy out your lease. Dana Sack 510-286-2200