California SB 567: Owner Move-In, Rent Cap, and Relocation Rules

California Senate Bill 567 took effect on April 1, 2024, and tightened the state’s rules on no-fault evictions and rent increases by adding documentation requirements, a right to return for displaced tenants, and treble damages for landlords who break the rules.¹ The law amended the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) rather than replacing it, and it also gave the California Attorney General, city attorneys, and county counsel new authority to sue landlords directly.

Does SB 567 Apply to Your Rental

The just cause eviction and rent cap protections cover most California rental housing once a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied a unit for 12 months. Several categories of property are exempt under Civil Code Section 1946.2, including housing that received a certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years, owner-occupied single-family homes where the owner rents no more than two units or bedrooms, small owner-occupied duplexes, certain individually owned homes where the owner is not a corporation or LLC and the tenant received written notice of the exemption, dormitories and other institutional housing, shared living arrangements with the owner, and deed-restricted affordable housing.²

The rent cap exemptions under Civil Code Section 1947.12 closely mirror this list. There’s one addition: properties already subject to a local rent control ordinance that caps increases below the state limit are exempt from the state cap.³ Both sets of protections are set to expire on January 1, 2030, unless the legislature extends them.⁴

Owner Move-In Evictions Under SB 567

Owner move-in was the no-fault ground most commonly used as a pretext, and SB 567 rewrote the rules around it. The termination notice must now name the person who intends to move in and state their relationship to the owner. Only certain relatives qualify: the owner’s spouse, domestic partner, children, grandchildren, parents, or grandparents.²

The definition of “owner” also narrowed. To use this ground, the person on title must be a natural person holding at least a 25 percent recorded ownership interest, or any ownership interest if 100 percent of the property is held by family members related as siblings, spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, grandchildren, or grandparents.⁵ Tenants have the right to request documentation proving the intended occupant actually qualifies, and the landlord must provide it.

Two situations bar this ground entirely. If a similar vacant unit already exists on the property, or if the intended occupant already lives in another unit on the property, the landlord cannot evict a tenant under an owner move-in claim.²

Once the tenant leaves, the intended occupant has 90 days to move in and must live in the unit as a primary residence for at least 12 consecutive months. If either deadline is missed, the landlord must offer the unit back to the displaced tenant at the rent and lease terms in effect when they left, and reimburse reasonable moving expenses beyond any relocation assistance already paid. The one built-in exception is if the intended occupant dies before completing the 12-month residency.²

Substantial Remodel and Demolition Evictions

SB 567 also closed the loophole around vague renovation plans. A termination notice on this ground must include a description of the planned work, the expected timeline, and a copy of any required permits.⁶ The remodel must be extensive enough that the tenant cannot safely remain during the work.

If the project is never started or completed, the landlord must offer the displaced tenant the chance to return under the same lease terms and at the rent that was in effect when they left. The tenant has 30 days to accept or reject, and another 30 days to move back in after accepting.¹

Relocation Assistance Rules

Any no-fault eviction, whether owner move-in, substantial remodel, market withdrawal, or a government order to vacate, triggers a relocation assistance requirement. The landlord must provide one month of rent, at the rate in effect when the notice was served, and can choose between a direct cash payment or a written waiver of the tenant’s final month of rent.²

Direct payments must be delivered within 15 calendar days of the termination notice. A rent waiver must state the dollar amount waived and confirm that no rent is due for the last month. The notice itself has to inform the tenant of this right. One caveat: if you take the assistance but refuse to move out after the notice period, the landlord can recover that amount as damages in the eviction case. Relocation payments required by local ordinances count toward the state requirement, so tenants in cities with their own rules will not necessarily receive both.

How the Rent Cap Works

The statewide rent cap limits annual increases to 5 percent plus the local cost-of-living change, or 10 percent, whichever is lower. The increase is measured against the lowest rent charged for the unit at any point in the prior 12 months, so if a landlord offered a temporary discount, the cap is calculated from that lower number.³

A landlord also cannot raise rent more than twice in any 12-month period, even if the combined increase stays within the cap. Leases must separately list the base rent and any concessions so the calculation is transparent.³

Penalties and Who Can Sue

A landlord who tries to recover possession of a unit in material violation of the no-fault eviction rules is liable for up to three times the tenant’s actual damages, plus punitive damages.¹ Actual damages can include moving costs and the difference between the old and new rent, so a fabricated owner move-in claim on a long-term tenant can produce a very large judgment.

On the rent cap side, a landlord who charges more than the legal maximum is liable for the excess collected. If the tenant proves the overcharge was willful or done with fraud or malice, damages triple.¹

SB 567 also authorized the California Attorney General, city attorneys, and county counsel to bring civil actions for injunctive relief against landlords who violate either the no-fault eviction rules or the rent cap.⁵ Before this change, enforcement fell almost entirely on individual tenants willing to hire a lawyer and sue. A public prosecutor can now step in.

What to Check if You Receive a No-Fault Notice

Read the notice against the requirements above. It must state the specific no-fault ground, name any intended occupant and their relationship to the owner for an owner move-in, attach a description of the work and copies of permits for a substantial remodel, and tell you about your right to relocation assistance.² A notice missing any of these elements may not be legally valid.

For an owner move-in notice, ask the landlord in writing for proof that the intended occupant qualifies as an owner or a covered family member. Documentation can include operating agreements and other records. If the landlord cannot produce it, treat that as a serious warning sign and consider talking to a tenant rights attorney or your local housing authority.

Keep everything: the notice, any payment or rent waiver, your lease, and all communication with the landlord. If the unit gets re-rented within months of a claim that the owner or a family member needed it, or if the promised remodel never happens, those records are what turn the right to return and the treble damages provisions into real money.

1
California Legislative Information. SB-567 Termination of Tenancy No-Fault Just Causes Gross Rental Rate Increases
2
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946.2 – Termination of Tenancy
3
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1947.12 – Residential Real Property Rent Caps
4
California Legislative Information. AB-1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019
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LegiScan. California SB 567 Termination of Tenancy No-Fault Just Causes Gross Rental Rate Increases
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California Legislative Information. SB-567 Bill Versions Compare