California landlord-tenant law lives mainly in the state’s Civil Code, which sets the rules for rental agreements, security deposits, habitability, landlord entry, rent increases, how a tenancy ends, and discrimination. Most residential rentals in the state are covered, and recent changes have tightened two of the biggest items: security deposits are now capped at one month’s rent for most landlords, and annual rent increases on covered properties are limited to the lower of 10% or 5% plus local inflation.
Rental Agreements and Required Disclosures
A tenancy can be a fixed-term lease or a periodic arrangement like month-to-month. Oral agreements are enforceable for terms of one year or less, though written agreements are standard. Either way, the landlord must put certain information in writing. Within 15 days of signing, the landlord must give the tenant a copy of the executed rental agreement; for oral agreements, the landlord must instead provide a written statement containing the same required information within 15 days.1California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1962
Every rental agreement must identify the person authorized to manage the property (name, phone, street address), the owner or an authorized agent for receiving legal notices and service of process, and how and where rent is to be paid.1California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1962
Several health and safety disclosures also have to go to the tenant at or before the start of the tenancy:
- A written bed bug notice explaining how to spot bed bugs, the importance of prompt reporting, and how to report a suspected infestation.2California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1954.603 – Bed Bug Infestations
- Written disclosure, before the lease is signed, if the landlord has actual knowledge that the property sits within one mile of a former federal or state military training site that may contain unexploded munitions.3California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1940.7
- For housing built before 1978, the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,” disclosure of any known lead-based paint hazards, any available testing records, and a lead warning statement in the lease.4U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Real Estate Disclosures About Potential Lead Hazards
Security Deposit Rules
Since July 1, 2024, California caps the total security deposit at one month’s rent whether the unit is furnished or unfurnished. The old two-months (unfurnished) and three-months (furnished) limits are gone. The one exception is a small-landlord carve-out: a natural person, or an LLC made up entirely of natural persons, who owns no more than two rental properties totaling four or fewer units can still collect up to two months’ rent.5California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement
What a Landlord Can Deduct
The deposit can only be used for four things: unpaid rent, repairing tenant-caused damage beyond normal wear and tear, cleaning the unit back to the condition it was in when the tenancy began, and restoring or replacing personal property when the lease specifically allows that deduction.5California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement A carpet worn thin from years of foot traffic is normal wear. A carpet stained by a pet or burned by a cigarette is tenant damage. Faded paint after a long tenancy is generally not chargeable.
Return Deadline and Penalties
Within 21 calendar days after move-out, the landlord must return whatever isn’t being withheld along with an itemized statement explaining each deduction. If repairs can’t reasonably be finished in 21 days, the landlord must send a good-faith estimate instead, then a corrected itemized statement and any remaining balance within 14 calendar days after the work is done or final invoices come in.5California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement
A landlord who withholds the deposit in bad faith can be hit with a penalty of up to twice the deposit on top of the tenant’s actual damages, and the landlord carries the burden of proving any deductions were reasonable.6California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1950.5
Habitability and Repairs
Every residential landlord in California must keep the property fit for human occupancy. This implied warranty of habitability can’t be waived in a lease. A unit is unfit if it substantially lacks any of the following:
- Weatherproofing of the roof and exterior walls, including intact windows and doors
- Working plumbing and gas facilities with hot and cold running water connected to an approved sewage system
- A functional heating system
- Safe electrical lighting and wiring
- Clean, sanitary buildings and grounds free from trash, rodents, and other pests
These are the floor.7California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1941.1 A broken heater left through winter or an ignored pest infestation isn’t just bad management; it’s a legal violation.
Repair and Deduct
If the landlord fails to fix an unlivable condition within a reasonable time after being notified, the tenant can hire someone to make the repair and subtract the cost from the next rent payment. The repair cost cannot exceed one month’s rent, and the tenant can use this remedy no more than twice in any 12-month period.8California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1942 Waiting at least 30 days after notice is presumed reasonable. Shorter waits can be justified for urgent problems like a broken front-door lock or complete loss of hot water.
Protection Against Retaliation
Tenants who report habitability problems or use the repair-and-deduct remedy are shielded from payback. If the landlord raises the rent, cuts services, or tries to evict within 180 days after a tenant files a complaint about the unit’s condition, the law presumes retaliation. The same presumption applies after a tenant complains to a housing agency or an inspection produces a code violation. Threatening to report a tenant to immigration authorities also counts as retaliation. A tenant can invoke the protection once per 12-month period.9California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1942.5
When a Landlord Can Enter
A landlord cannot walk into an occupied unit at will. Entry is limited to making necessary or agreed-upon repairs, showing the unit to prospective tenants or buyers, conducting a pre-move-out inspection, or complying with a court order.10California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1954
For most entries, written notice is required and must include the date, approximate time, and purpose. Twenty-four hours is presumed reasonable, and entry must occur during normal business hours unless the tenant agrees otherwise. Two practical exceptions: if the landlord and tenant verbally agree on a time for repairs, written notice isn’t required so long as entry happens within one week; and once the landlord has given written notice that the property is for sale, future showings can be scheduled by phone call, with the 24-hour presumption still in play.10California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1954 No notice is needed for genuine emergencies such as a fire or serious water leak, or when the tenant has abandoned the unit.
Rent Increases: Caps, Exemptions, and Notice
Under California’s Tenant Protection Act, rent on a covered property cannot be increased by more than 5% plus the local rate of inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower, over any 12-month period. No more than two increases are allowed in any 12-month period. When one tenant moves out and a new tenant moves in, the landlord can set the starting rent at any amount; the cap applies only to later increases on that new tenancy.11California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1947.12
Which Properties Are Exempt
The statewide cap doesn’t apply to:
- Housing that received its certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years (calculated on a rolling basis, so each building’s exemption eventually expires)
- Single-family homes and condominiums, but only if the owner is not a corporation, REIT, or LLC with a corporate member, and the landlord has given the tenant written notice that the unit is exempt
- Owner-occupied duplexes where the owner lives in one of the two units for the entire tenancy
- Deed-restricted affordable housing
- Dormitories run by schools or colleges
- Properties already covered by a stricter local rent control ordinance
A landlord who claims the single-family home exemption but never gives the tenant the required written notice cannot enforce it.11California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1947.12
Notice Periods
Whether or not the cap applies, periodic tenancies have fixed notice rules for rent increases. An increase of 10% or less over the rent charged in the prior 12 months requires at least 30 days’ written notice. An increase that exceeds 10%, alone or combined with other increases in the same 12-month window, requires at least 90 days’ notice.12California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 827
Ending a Tenancy
Notice for Month-to-Month Tenancies
Either side can end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice. A tenant must give at least 30 days. A landlord must give at least 30 days if the tenant has lived in the unit less than a year, and at least 60 days once the tenant has been there a year or more.13California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946.1
Just-Cause Eviction
On covered properties, once a tenant has lived in the unit continuously for 12 months, the landlord cannot terminate without stating a legally recognized reason in the written notice.14California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946.2 Valid reasons fall into two groups.
At-fault reasons involve tenant conduct: failing to pay rent, violating a material lease term after written notice to cure, maintaining a nuisance, criminal activity on the property, refusing lawful landlord entry, or subletting in violation of the lease.
No-fault reasons are landlord-side needs when the tenant has done nothing wrong, including the owner or an immediate family member moving in, withdrawing the unit from the rental market, or a substantial renovation that requires the unit to be vacant. For any no-fault termination, the landlord must either pay the tenant relocation assistance equal to one month’s rent or waive the final month of rent.14California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946.2
The same property categories exempt from the rent cap are also exempt from the just-cause requirement. A landlord of an exempt single-family home who gave the proper written exemption notice can still end a month-to-month tenancy with the appropriate notice period and no stated reason.
Discrimination Protections
Federal fair housing law bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act goes further, adding source of income (including housing vouchers), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, ancestry, military or veteran status, medical condition, and genetic information, among others.15California Civil Rights Department. Source of Income General Overview
The source-of-income rule catches many landlords off guard. In California, refusing to rent to someone because they will pay with a Section 8 housing choice voucher or other government rental assistance violates state law, even if the landlord’s actual concern is paperwork or inspection delays.
Tenants with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations, meaning landlords must grant exceptions to usual rules when necessary. The common example is allowing an assistance animal in a no-pets building. Both federal and California law require landlords to accommodate emotional support animals and service animals, and no pet deposit or extra rent can be charged for them. These protections apply to essentially all housing, including properties otherwise exempt from the Tenant Protection Act’s rent cap and just-cause rules.