California Landlord-Tenant Laws

Verified October 1, 2026 Updated October 8, 2026

Check your municipality. California does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice periods, and fee limits that are stricter than the state law on this page. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below. Verified local pages: Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Hayward, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County (unincorporated), Mountain View, Oakland, Oxnard, Pasadena, Pomona, Richmond, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, West Hollywood.

What the state record says

California has a statewide rent cap. The Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) limits annual increases on covered units to the lesser of 5% plus regional CPI or 10%, with at most two increases per 12 months. Many units are exempt, and stricter local rent-control ordinances control where they exist. The cap is codified at Civ. Code § 1947.12. It is measured against the lowest gross rent charged in the prior 12 months, and rent discounts, incentives, concessions or credits the owner offered and the tenant accepted are left out of that figure, so the cap is worked out from the undiscounted rent. The gross monthly rate and any owner-offered discounts, incentives, concessions or credits must be listed and identified separately in the lease or rental agreement, or in any amendment to an existing one. The cap remains in effect until January 1, 2030, when the section is repealed. Exempt: housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the previous 15 years (a rolling window), unless it is a mobilehome; single-family homes, condos and other units that can be sold separately, where the owner is not a REIT, a corporation, an LLC with a corporate member or mobilehome park management, and the tenants have been given the statutory written exemption notice; a duplex where the owner lived in one unit at the start of the tenancy and still does, and neither unit is an accessory or junior accessory dwelling unit; deed-restricted or subsidized affordable housing; school and college dormitories; and housing under a local rent-control law that limits annual increases to less than the state cap.

California at a glance

Rule	California	Cited to
Max security deposit	1 month's rent	Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 +1 more
Deposit return deadline	21 days	Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 +1 more
Rent-increase notice (month-to-month)	30 days	Cal. Civ. Code § 827 +1 more
Statewide rent control / rent cap	Yes	Cal. Civ. Code § 827 +1 more
Late-fee cap	No statutory cap	Cal. Civ. Code § 1671
Entry notice	24 hours	Cal. Civ. Code § 1954 +2 more
Eviction notice (nonpayment)	3 business days	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161 +17 more
Application fee cap	Two limits apply at once: the fee may not exceed the landlord's actual out-of-pocket cost of gathering the applicant's information, and in no case may it exceed a base of $30 per applicant, which the landlord may raise annually in line with increases in the Consumer Price Index running from January 1, 1998.	Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6 +27 more
Interest owed on deposits	No — no statute addresses it	Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 (security deposits; the section is silent on interest) +2 more
Repair deadline after tenant notice	30 days	Cal. Civ. Code § 1941 (landlord's duty to put and keep premises fit) +13 more
Repair and deduct	Yes — authorized by statute	Cal. Civ. Code § 1941 (landlord's duty to put and keep premises fit) +13 more
Landlord notice to end a month-to-month tenancy	60 days (3 counting rules)	Cal. Civ. Code § 1946 +26 more
Owner and agent identity disclosure	Required — in the lease or by posting	Cal. Civil Code § 1624 +36 more
In-force state hazard disclosures beyond the federal lead-paint rule	7	Cal. Civil Code § 1624 +36 more
Pet deposit	Counts inside the general deposit cap	Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 +26 more
Assistance animals: the state instrument	Documentation statute or rule	Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 +26 more

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, California Landlord-Tenant Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/california/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the California statute it comes from on the linked topic page.

Local rent regulation in California

California cities and counties may adopt rent control, and many have, but state law limits how far local rules can reach — the Costa-Hawkins Act exempts newer buildings and single-family homes and lets landlords reset rent between tenancies, while a separate statewide cap of 5% plus inflation (max 10%) covers most other rentals through 2029 (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535, 1947.12).

Other California cities — Alameda, Antioch, East Palo Alto, Baldwin Park, Bell Gardens, and Berkeley's and Los Angeles's smaller neighbors among them — have rent stabilization ordinances of their own, and a further group of cities and counties regulate evictions without a rent cap. The records above cover twenty of the largest rent-regulation regimes, including unincorporated Los Angeles County and Santa Barbara's temporary freeze, and four of the largest just-cause-only cities, not the full list; a landlord elsewhere in California should check the city code, and the statewide cap covers most rentals either way.

Cited to Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.52 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act) , Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.53 , Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (AB 1482 statewide cap) · Verified October 1, 2026 · Full California rent-increase rules →

California landlord-tenant laws by topic

California security deposits

California caps security deposits at one month's rent for deposits collected or demanded on or after July 1, 2024, whether the unit is furnished or not — with a narrow small-landlord exception allowing two months.

California rent increase notice

California requires 30 days' written notice for a rent increase of 10% or less over any 12-month window, and 90 days' notice for anything larger — plus five extra days when the notice is mailed.

California late fees

California has no statutory dollar cap or mandatory grace period for residential late fees, but that does not make them a free-for-all: a late fee must be agreed in the lease, and in a residential lease a clause fixing damages in advance is void unless it would be impracticable or extremely difficult to fix the landlord's actual damage from late payment (Civ. Code § 1671(d)).

California entry notice

California landlords must give reasonable written notice before entering an occupied unit — 24 hours is presumed reasonable — stating the date, approximate time, and purpose, and entry must happen during normal business hours unless the tenant consents at the time of entry.

California eviction process

California evictions run through an 'unlawful detainer' lawsuit, and the famous three-day notices now count business days: the pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit notices exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays, while the no-cure three-day quit notice for waste, nuisance, unlawful use, or prohibited subletting still runs in calendar days.

California application & screening fees

California limits a rental application screening fee to the landlord's actual out-of-pocket screening costs and, on top of that, to a base of $30 per applicant that the landlord may raise each year in line with the Consumer Price Index, and it surrounds the fee with rules on when it may be collected, what must be refunded, and what the applicant must receive.

California deposit interest

California's security-deposit statute says nothing about interest — no part of Civil Code § 1950.5 requires a landlord to pay or credit a tenant any interest on a residential deposit.

California habitability & repairs

California landlords must put a rented dwelling into a condition fit for human occupation and repair later dilapidations that make it untenantable, and a dwelling is untenantable if it substantially lacks any of the eleven characteristics the Civil Code lists.

California lease termination

A California landlord ending a month-to-month tenancy gives 60 days' written notice, dropping to 30 days if any tenant or resident has lived there less than a year, while the tenant gives 30 days whatever their tenure.

California lease disclosures

A written California lease must name the manager and the owner with telephone numbers and addresses, say where and how rent is paid, carry a flood disclosure and a rent-cap notice, and reach the tenant as a copy within fifteen days of signing.

California pets & assistance animals

California has no separate pet deposit: money taken at move-in for a pet is security like any other money, so it counts in full toward the deposit cap and has to be refundable.

California mobile home park laws

California's Mobilehome Residency Law, Civil Code sections 798 to 798.88, governs tenancies in parks of two or more spaces where the resident owns the home and rents the space beneath it: management must give 90 days' written notice of a lot-rent increase, must offer every homeowner a rental agreement with a 12-month term, may end a tenancy only for one of seven listed reasons, and must give six months' notice of a closure once the local permits are approved, plus an impact report that can require paying a displaced resident the in-place market value of the home.

California Fair Market Rents (FY 2027) — HUD's benchmark rents for every California metro area and county.

Editable California deposit kit · Editable California disclosure packet — editable documents built on the verified California rules on this page, in Word, fillable PDF and Excel.

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (October 1, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

Updated, October 8, 2026 — Santa Barbara adopted its Residential Rent Stabilization and Residential Rental Registry Programs ordinance on October 6, 2026 (Municipal Code chapters 26.90 and 26.100). Under the City Charter it takes effect November 5, 2026; from January 1, 2027 yearly increases on covered units are limited to 60% of the change in the Consumer Price Index or 3%, whichever is less; registration of covered units is due by the later of April 1, 2027 or 30 days after the form is available, and of all other rental units by the later of October 1, 2027 or 30 days after. The temporary freeze still expires December 31, 2026 or earlier if the permanent program begins to operate first; the City has not stated that operative date.
Correction, October 2, 2026 — Notice periods now print in the unit each statute uses (correction). Entry notice: the statutes of Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Washington say two days and Oklahoma's says one day, and those pages show days; Delaware's and Vermont's say 48 hours, and their pages, which had shown 2 days, now show 48 hours. Eviction notice for unpaid rent: California, Florida and Utah give three days that leave out Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and their pages now show 3 business days, as does California's lease-violation notice; Nevada's shows 7 judicial days; Alabama's two notices show 7 business days. Each statute was read on its official site on October 1, 2026. No period changed.
Correction, October 2, 2026 — City and county pages. San Diego: a sentence said the city has never limited the amount a landlord may charge; the city has capped utility pass-through fees since August 17, 2025, and the sentence now says only that the Residential Tenant Protections Ordinance does not limit rent. Jersey City: a note now says that Ordinances 25-099 and 25-105 of 2025 are law but not yet printed in the published code, which still shows the earlier section 260-6(C) and has no section 260-21. Montgomery County, Maryland: Bill 8-26 on rent-setting algorithms is listed for a committee worksession on October 5, 2026 and expires December 7, 2026 if not enacted. District of Columbia (pets): the emergency act that applies the rental rules expires November 11, 2026, and the Council's legislative record projects that the permanent act becomes law on November 20, 2026; the page states both dates and what happens between them if the Council does not act.
Correction, October 2, 2026 — California (correction): eight statements about bills that did not pass had said the Legislature adjourned its 2025-2026 session, or that the session ended, on August 31, 2026. August 31, 2026 was the last day either house could pass an ordinary bill (Cal. Const. art. IV, section 10(c)); the session adjourns on November 30, 2026 (art. IV, section 3(a)). The statements now say that. No rule on any page changed.
Correction, October 2, 2026 — California (correction): on the pets page, the Civil Rights Council's accommodation regulation was cited by subdivision letters it no longer uses. Confidentiality of a request is at 2 CCR section 12176, subdivision (e)(1), and the provisions on how a request may be made are at subdivision (f); the page had cited both under subdivision (b). The Council's own published final text is now cited beside each of the seven regulations the page relies on.
Correction, October 2, 2026 — Oxnard and Sacramento (correction): in Oxnard, for a lease entered into on or after June 2, 2022, an owner move-in is a cause to end a tenancy only if the tenant agrees in writing or the lease allows it (City Code 27-4(A), as amended effective June 19, 2025). In Sacramento, the page now states the June 24, 2025 ordinance (effective July 24, 2025) that added findings that the city's just-cause rules apply in place of the state's.
Correction, October 2, 2026 — Culver City (correction): the rent limit applies to multi-unit rentals whose first certificate of occupancy was issued on or before February 1, 1995; the page had said "first occupied". The capital improvement charge is spread over a period the Housing Services Division sets, not the improvement's useful life. An owner move-in is open only to a natural-person landlord (or a trust, company or partnership with no corporate owner acting for one), needs the tenant's written agreement or a lease clause for a lease made on or after July 1, 2020, and is limited by bedroom count, vacant units and the most recently occupied unit. A termination notice must also be served as state law requires, say whether the reason is tenant-fault or no-fault, and carry the relocation notice; and the relocation fee is halved for a small landlord's owner move-in.
Correction, October 2, 2026 — Los Angeles (correction): the pets page had said the city's pet rule for publicly financed housing carries no private right of action and that its effective date could not be stated. Section 51.23 of the same article lets a tenant enforce it by civil action for actual damages or three times one month's rent, whichever is higher, with attorney's fees, lets any person seek an injunction, and makes the article a defense in an eviction case about the pet. The article was added by Ordinance No. 186228 (passed July 3, 2019, approved July 12, 2019) and took effect August 25, 2019; public financing means a city loan or grant used to build new multi-family housing, and a rental subsidy does not count (section 51.21). On the Los Angeles rent page, the note on the end of the utility add-on now states that Ordinance No. 188,911, effective April 20, 2026, requires any annual increase taking effect on or after February 2, 2026 to follow the new formula.
Correction, October 2, 2026 — Oxnard (correction): the page had said an increase granted on a fair return petition is a one-time increase and that the city manager's decision is final and cannot be appealed. Under the regulations the City Council adopted on February 3, 2026 (Resolution No. 16,019, Exhibit D), the decision follows a hearing at which the owner and the tenants each speak, may be challenged in court by a writ of administrative mandamus filed within 90 days, and lets the owner start the increase only once it is final; nothing in the regulations makes the increase a one-time increase. A low- or moderate-income household has 30 days from the mailing of the decision to claim severe economic hardship; until the claim is decided only the ordinary 4% increase may be imposed, and where hardship is shown no monthly increase above the greater of 10%, twice the Employment Cost Index or $100 may be authorized. The citation to Ordinance No. 3049 now points to Parts 4 to 10 and the citation to Ordinance No. 3058 to Parts 1 to 4, the parts that amend the city code.

How this record was verified: Web verification against leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (Civ. Code 1950.5, 827; AB 12 bill text) with corroborating county/city government sources (SF.gov, LA County DCBA, San Mateo County) for AB 1482 and Civ. Code 1954 operation. October 1, 2026: every section the security deposit, rent increase, late fee, entry and eviction answers rest on was read again on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, with its credit line: Civil Code sections 827, 1671, 1942.9, 1946.2, 1946.3, 1947.12, 1950.5, 1954 and 1954.50 to 1954.535 and Code of Civil Procedure sections 12, 12a, 715.010, 1013, 1161, 1162, 1167, 1169, 1170.5, 1174, 1176 and 1179, with rule 8.822 of the California Rules of Court on courts.ca.gov. The newest amendments to these sections are 2025 acts in force since January 1, 2026. All 1,040 chapters of the 2026 statutes were screened, and none amends, adds or repeals any of them.